Kakashi no Kaze Koneko
by thegriffin88
Summary: The Hokage picked Kakashi for the mission because he was the most skilled. The Jonin didn't realize that the mission was to tame a seven year old Neko girl named Kira Koneko...summary inside
1. Chapter 1

Full summary: "The Hokage picked Kakashi for the mission because he was the most skilled. The Jonin didn't realize that the mission was to tame a seven year old Neko girl named Kira Koneko, who's been renowned as the famous Kaze Koneko. Will the two bond, or will their rivaled skills pit them against each other? Hows THAT for a cliche tag line?"

Rated T for violence...and...yep, that's it.

Written by spookthemook (author of the acclaimed Parody Potter series) and posted by thegriffin88 (author of the acclaimed So I Married a Murderer series)

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PART 1

Kira never thought of herself as special. Her mother always told her she was special, but she just assumed it was because of her ears and tail. While the rest of the children, she didn't pay them much mind. She was used to the constant teasing of others, save for her mother and all the other adults that smiled at her beauty. For some reason, they spoke to Kira differently; they looked at her with a different light in their eyes, as if they knew a secret she hadn't found out yet.

In class she surpassed ever single test they gave her. Her agility amazed them. She was only six, yet she had mastered the ability to walk on walls and ceilings more so than some students five years ahead of her. This ability, however, was not taught to her. It was instinct. The Neko Clan wasn't much of a clan, but a breed of cat females. These cat women were enabled with these abilities from the start: perfect flexibility, quick reflexes, astounding speed, excellent hearing, night vision, and the most feared weapon of all: fangs. It was true that, although a dying breed, the Neko Clan was truly remarkable. However, it was impossible that a member of this clan could posses ninjutsu or genjutsu abilities. It was unheard of for any cat girl to perform anything but tai-jutsu…Except, for a one.

She astounded teachers after school when a group of students gathered around her to pick a fight. They pushed her up against the wall, pulling her tail, grabbing her ears that she flattened in fear. Just as the teachers were about to step in, the students were completely thrown backwards by an invisible force. They scattered in different directions like leaves, skidding on the dirt ground until they were stopped by colliding with a building or another student. The teachers looked around, wondering where this powerful force came from. An enemy Shinobi? The Wind leader? But when the torpedo wind implosion reduced into a pleasant zephyr, their eyes wandered towards the little cat girl, her huge bat ears back in anger, a look of utter annoyance on her face. She took her bristled tail in her hands and shouted angrily, her small fangs bared, "Don't pull my tail, stupid-heads!"

From then on, they understood. This was no ordinary Neko Clan member. This was the special breed. The breed that was thought to be extinct for over three hundred years. The _Kaze Koneko. _The Wind Kitten.

"Thank you for seeing us, Lord Hokage," the Kazekage said, easing himself on the seat provided.

"Always nice to see an ally," the Hokage smiled, reaching for a cup of tea, "What brings you on this pleasant day? I was told it was important."

"It is," the Kazekage nodded, leaning forward and lowering his voice, "We have found a Kaze Koneko."

The Hokage shot up from his cup, his eyes fixed on the man who had brought him this shocking news.

"You cannot be serious," he said quietly, shaking his head slightly in amazement, "The breed died out years ago."

"That's what we thought," the Kazekage said, feeling a slight smile tug at his mouth in excitement, "But recently the school has reported that they have discovered one of their Neko-Clan students was using wind jutsu. I didn't believe it either, but there was no denying what they saw. It's true." The Hokage put his cup down, not taking a drink from it. He stared at nowhere in particular, rubbing his chin with a hand. Was it really true? After all these years?

"So, all is not lost," he smiled softly, "I remember when the breed was it it's peak. They worshiped the breed. It was a god. This breed was usually found once every hundred years. They protected the village, because as strong as the Neko Clan is with tai-jutsu, they needed the Kaze Koneko to protect them with her powers. Suna soldiers would tell stories of their beauty. And then…," his smile faded slightly, hiding behind his poised hands as he muttered the words, "He came…slaughtering more than half of the city." The Kazekage shook his head. This was obviously before his time, but to be reminded of a pain that shook the foundations of an entire clan, it devastated him to know that there was such a thing possible.

"But a few escaped," the Hokage continued, his voice rising in hope, "And rebuilt their clan in the nearby city _Uindo_. They really are an astounding breed." He raised his eyes toward the Wind leader, his faithful smile back, "And now, we have found even more hope."

"The reason I came was," the Kazekage paused, "We need a teacher from your village. I know that Konoha has some of the best elite Shinobi out there, and we would really appreciate it if one of them would train her."

"Absolutely," the Hokage nodded, "I insist. A prodigy like that should have the best of training. Why hesitate to ask?" The Kazekage let out a small sigh.

"Well, it's well known that the Neko clan members are not prone to trusting everyone they meet, especially men. We need a teacher who's skilled and patient, for if they can't gain a trusting relationship with the student, there's no hope in them teaching her anything at all."

The Hokage nodded, reducing himself to rubbing his chin in thought. Who would be good for the job? A strong but gentle hand was needed here, to teach a powerful but delicate student. This student was special; she needed one of the best.

"I have a teacher who would be perfect," the Hokage smiled suddenly, bringing his cup of tea to his lips, "I'll send him over right after he completes his mission. I presume this would be an S ranked mission, so this will be perfect for him. Who knows? Maybe they'll become the best of friends by the time they're through."

The Kazekage smiled, picking up his tea as well.

"For the sake of the village," he smiled, taking a sip of the sweet drink.

"Let me tell you a little about this student," the Hokage said, getting up to walk around the room a bit, "She's a rare breed. The Kaze Konekos are very powerful, let alone the entire clan. She's not like the other students you've encountered. She's even excelled in skills not taught to Shinobi students yet. So, I want you, Kakashi Hatake," he turned to the aloof Shinobi. He had leaned himself against the wall opposite the Hokage, letting every word he had said sink in. He looked at the old man from under his mask, waiting for his next words.

"I'm asking you," the Hokage continued, turning and walking over to Kakashi, his voice more serious now, "To take on this mission. I trust you to know that this is a serious S ranked mission. You could be dealing with the next leader of the Wind village." Kakashi did not speak, but merely nodded.

"Here's the information you need to know about her," the Hokage handed him a clipboard. Charts and sheets were attached to it, including a picture. Kakashi unclipped the picture and looked at it. The cat girl's dark brown hair did not match her ears at all, which had a creamy color to them. They were pointed at the top with black, as if someone had dipped them in ink. Her eyes were big and crimson, outlined by a natural dark line, making them more cat-like. He studied the picture.

"She's cute, isn't she?" the Hokage smiled, "The Neko Clan members are known for their beauty, using seduction as their "signature" attack, if you will. For now, though, she can only perform skilled tai-Jitsu with expert agility. But when you get to be a little more familiar with her, you can start working on her ninjutsu and genjitsu. Keep in mind that cat girls do not take trust easily, especially to men, so I'm counting on you to work on your relationship first, and then you can work steadily on her ninjutsu." The Hokage, satisfied with his lecture, turned to Kakashi. Kakashi was still focused on the picture, although he had heard every word. He lifted his serene eyes to meet the Hokage's own.

"Her eyes are crossed," Kakashi said, looking at the picture.

"Really? Let me see," the Hokage looked at the picture.

"Ah, well, they told me she was spirited." the Hokage laughed, "Their breed is a very energetic one, especially the young ones, or kittens, as they call them, so I guess you'll have your work cut out for you, huh?" Kakashi studied the picture again. He sighed. _She can't be more then seven_. Kakashi thought. _I can handle her, nothing to worry about. The only thing I need to worry about is if she can keep up with _me_._

"I'll put my full strength into this mission," Kakashi said, tucking the photo back onto the clipboard, "You have my word." The Hokage nodded, smiling in a knowing way.

"All in good time," he smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

On a warm spring day, the silver haired Jonin was escorted down the hallway of the school to the awaiting room. That same day, students who had graduated to the level of Genin were assigned to their Jonin teachers, and every single one had left. The school figured this would be a good time to introduce Kakashi to his new student.

"Basically, we don't know much about Neko Clan members," the proctor confessed as he came to a door, adding a nervous laugh, "I only heard my grandfather mention them in his war stories; about how he was stationed in their home, Kaze, and how beautiful the women were. Anyway, we want you to teach her using any method your comfortable with. We'll send any lesson date and times you want to start to her family." _By that he means her mother, obviously_, Kakashi said to himself, referring back to the clipboard that said her father had been killed.

"Thank you," Kakashi said, reaching for the door handle, "This should be a good experience for the both of us."

"Oh, and be careful," the proctor said over his shoulder, quickly walking away down the hall, "She likes to play pranks."

Kakashi stopped mid-door-opening to listen to this bit of advice echo through his head. _Be calm_, he told himself, _Kids can sense fear, and god knows what else these cat girls are capable of. You've dealt with the most powerful ninja in all the land; you can deal with a little seven year old kitten, what's the big deal? Everyone's probably making this a bigger deal than it ought to be. You can handle this._

Drawing in a breath of cool air, he slowly turned the door handle, listening to the door open with a creak, preparing himself for anything to come.

When he opened the door, he only saw a spic and span classroom…that was empty. He turned his head to the left, then to the right. Nothing. Was he in the wrong room? He craned his head back to read the numbers on the door. Room 28. No, he was in the right room. The room was in silence, except for a few birds singing outside. Kakashi sighed in relief, but was still confused of the where-a-bouts of his student.

Suddenly, he caught the scent of something familiar. The scent of…tuna? His ears became alert as he picked up the sound of someone breathing softly…from above him. Slowly, he looked upwards to meet the crimson eyes of his student, hanging off the ceiling upside down and staring at him in the face.

"Hah!" the student laughed, her fangs showing.

"Good god!" Kakashi suddenly yelled, as his shock caused him to lose his footing.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself on the ground, only one second after the encounter. He heard the soft sound of his student jumping from the ceiling. She ran into his view and fell onto the floor, staring at him in the face with her large eyes.

"Are you Kakashi sensei?" she asked brightly, her ears pointed in excitement, "I'm Kira! Nice to meet you!"

Kakashi stared back at this girl, watching her ears twitch and her tail sway back and forth, her smile never budging.

_What the hell have I gotten myself into? _He thought to himself.

The air was cool and calm, as was the pleasant blue sky. Kakashi had took to taking their lesson outdoors, seeing that it was what he usually did with his cells, and because there were sharp objects in the room and he didn't want to take any chances with this hyper cat-child. He usually had three kids in a group, consisting of two boys and one girl. But now he had one kid that had as much energy as all three kids put together.

Kakashi stared back at his student. She was still, waiting obediently for him to speak, but her ears and tail moved constantly, picking up sounds and twitching in excitement.

"Well then," Kakashi said kindly, trying to make friends with the child, "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" This was what he usually did with his students, so he thought sticking to the usual plan would suffice for now. Kira raised her head slightly.

"Me?" she asked, pointing a finger to herself. Kakashi smiled and nodded. He had to admit, she was really cute. Suddenly, Kira wrinkled her nose and laughed. Kakashi was confused, but decided to keep quiet, figuring she would explain herself.

"I don't need to tell you anything about me," Kira laughed, shuffling her feet on the stone pavement steps she was sitting on, "That clipboard you have says everything you need to know about me." Kakashi was startled when she realized she was right.

_Smart_, he thought curtly.

"Well, that's true," Kakashi said, "But it can't tell me what you like, or what you don't like. What do you like?" Kira drew in her breath, but leaned back and shut her eyes.

"My mom said I shouldn't tell strangers anything about me, especially men," she stated, as though she was programmed to say this, which she probably was, "And you're a complete stranger to me. So why don't you tell me something about yourself?" Kakashi sighed. They were right; she did not put her trust in just anyone. He decided to just say what he always said.

"Okay, I'll start," he said light-heartedly, "My name is Kakashi Hatake, and I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes to you. My dreams for the future are none of your business…but besides that, I have lots of hobbies." He ended the sentence there. Kira cocked her head, her ears pointed, but only smiled with a satisfied laugh.

"Okay, now will you tell me something about yourself?" Kakashi asked hopefully.

"Sure!" Kira smiled, "My name's Kira Koneko. I like lots and lots of things, and there's not much I don't like. I haven't thought much about my dreams, and I like doing almost everything, so I really don't know what my hobbies are."

Kakashi stared at her. Was she serious? Why was she being so smart? Did she really not trust him? How much longer would it take for her to give a simple bit of information about herself to him? But looking back at her with her big grin on her face, he decided that it would take time, and he was willing to wait…for now.

"Good enough," he sighed, "Now, we can start the lesson. Come back tomorrow, and don't eat breakfast before you come."

"Why?" Kira asked, jumping up as Kakashi prepared to leave.

"Standard rules," Kakashi said while continuing towards the stairs, "Just show up tomorrow."

"Yay! Lesson!" Kira exclaimed happily, bounding upward and running over to the stairs from which they came up. Kakashi merely sighed. She definitely was different from his other students during the introductions, but how would she handle her first assignment?


	3. Chapter 3

"All right Kyra, are you ready?" Kakashi smiled, looking down at her. Kira stared up at him, her big ears lowered slightly by being belittled. She merely nodded, eager to see what her challenge was. Kakashi had never dealt with someone so young, so he tried to make himself seem as harmless as possible. This lesson was meant for a three student cell, but he though it would make for a good lesson with only one student.

"I have here one silver bell," he reached into his pocket and showed it to Kira. Her eyes widened, clearly fixated on the sound it made. He had caught her undivided attention now.

"Your job is to steal one from me before this timer sounds." He set a timer on a tree stump and pressed the button. He watched one of Kira's ears swivel in one direction as she heard the faint ticking.

"If you can't get one," he continued, "Then you don't get lunch." Kira's ears went back slightly. Her eyes fixated on Kakashi. He knew that now, his challenge had made her motivated. She was determined to seek out his weaknesses, making him her enemy now. Although this is exactly what the Hokage told him no to do, he felt it was necessary to see what her abilities were. It was for her own good.

Suddenly, Kira's ears shot forward and her tail bristled. Her hand shot out to which she pointed to something off in the distance.

"Aah!" she yelped, her fangs bared. Kakashi was put on full alert as he whipped around, prepared to defend his student. There was nothing to be seen or heard. As his eyes scanned the small clearing of the forest they were in, Kira snatched the bell that he had in his hand. Kakashi quickly turned around to see Kira holding the small bell in her hand. She looked up at him, smiling.

_Is this a joke?_ Kakashi thought as Kira happily studied the sliver object. _How could she take it so quickly from me? She already completed the challenge…. _

"Here," she smiled, handing him back the bell, "That was fun. Can we do it again?"

Kakashi gained his composure and sighed, scratching his head. He might have to put a little more effort into this.

"Okay, we'll try again," he said calmly, "And this time, I want you to go hide and try to steal it from my while my back is turned, okay?"

"Okay!" Kira smiled, wagging her tail.

"Go!" Kakashi commanded. Kira took off at an unknown rate of speed, laughing as she jumped into the forest with a rustle of leaves. Kakashi blinked.

"That was fast," he said quietly, reaching into his bag to pull out his book, "I've got a while before she can cook up some plan."

About five minuets had passed, and Kakashi had begun to wonder if Kira had run off some where. He wouldn't put it passed her; he knew that the Neko Clan members were skilled climbers and could travel faster on foot than any other ninja, so she could go very far in a short amount of time. He looked over slightly from his book to the forest surrounding him. The placid trees stood still, only their branches moving with the occasional wind. A large lake lay in front of him, rippling every now and then as water bugs perched on its surface.

Kira sat on a tree branch that was only a couple feet away from Kakashi, shielded from the sun rays. She lay on her stomach, resting her head on her arms. She studied him.

"How boring," she yawned, watching her teacher go back to reading his book, "Is he just gonna ready that book all day?" She felt her stomach growl in protest to lack of breakfast. Her mother had been confused when Kyra dashed out of the door with out breakfast.

"So that's why he didn't want me to have breakfast," Kira rested her head in her hand, swishing her tail, "Ah well, I'm hungry. Time to get that bell."

The sound of snapping twigs and branches awoke Kakashi from his peaceful reading. He snapped his attention to where the sound came from.

"Foolish," he smirked to his invisible opponent, facing the direction from which the noise came from within the brush, "How can you be a ninja when all you do is make noise?" While he waited for an answer from his opponent, he suddenly felt something push him so hard that he was thrown against a tree in front of him. The force was so hard that he barley had time to comprehend it. Struggling to regain his breath, he felt himself slump down the tree, his vision dizzy. What happened? His head throbbed when he realized that it was Kyra who had run into him from behind, pummeling him against the tree.

He quickly stood up, prepared to face her, now fully motivated by this violent move, but she was nowhere to be found. When his vision cleared, he saw no one. He scanned the forest, but could not find any sign of her. He however did see a small rock nearby the bush that he had been foolishly talking to.

"I see," Kakashi said to himself, rubbing his pounding head, "She threw a rock so I would think she was spying on me from the other side, and then ran into me, knocking the wind out of me. I can't believe I fell for such a simple trap." His anger slowly melted away as he reached inside his pocket, only to discover that Kira had taken the bell.

"What?!" Kakashi muttered in surprise, "How could she have done that without me knowing?!" It was impossible. He sure felt the impact of her charge, but had not heard her at all. What was this kid trying to pull?

"Well, better go find her," Kakashi sighed to himself, rubbing his aching back from where Kira had slammed into him. He had never been defeated before in his own challenge, and the thought shamed himself a little.

"Especially since the kid is seven years old," Kakashi muttered as he stuffed his book into his bag, "But, I guess I was given fair warning, so I got what I deserved. I should really focus on helping her, not competing with her."

"Hey hey hey! Over here, sensei!" a voice rang in his ears. Kakashi turned to see Kira perched on a tree branch in front of him, smiling and waving.

"All right, Kira," Kakashi put on a fake smile, trying not to get angry, "You completed the challenge in the space of five minuets," _You little runt. _"How about you come down here and we can go eat lunch?" Kira cocked her head upwards, thinking.

"Mm, nah," Kira shrugged carelessly, "I'd rather not." _This is ridiculous, _Kakashi thought, _Why can't she just listen to me? Why does she have to be so catty? _Kakashi mentally slapped himself for being so stupid.

"Come on, Kira, come down from the tree," Kakashi coaxed, holding back the annoyance in his voice.

"If you want me, you have to catch me!" Kira sang, jumping off from the branch and disappearing into the forest. Kakashi watched, speechless.

"Dammnit!" he cursed. He quickly shook off his anger when he realized how much trouble he would be in when they discovered that he had lost the last Kaze-Koneko in the world. Taking a deep breath, he quickly sprung from his position and entered the forest.

"They weren't kidding," he muttered as he landed on a large tree branch, surveying the tangle of tree trunks before him, "She is fast, and not only that, but she's got a natural complete control over her chakra so she can climb trees better than some Chunin level students can." Suddenly, his caught out of the corner of his eye something falling onto a branch. He turned to see Kira jump from a tree trunk right in front of him, landing without a sound on a branch. His mind leapt into action as he pounced for her.

"Gotcha!" he said, holding tightly onto Kira as she yelped in fright. Suddenly, there was a light pop noise and the figure disappeared in a shroud of smoke.

"What?" Kakashi said in disbelief as he looked at the empty space that he was clutching onto, "A shadow Doppler-ganger? How can she create one of those at such a young age?" He looked around the forest, wondering if the real Kira had not actually been there before at all, that after taking the bell, she had run off somewhere else?

"This is not good," Kakashi sighed, "If she gets lost, I can forget about going back to Konoha."

"Yo!" a voice chirped. Kakashi spun around to see Kira hanging from a tree branch, swinging playfully and smiling at him, "Hi Kakashi sensei! What's for lunch?"

"Get back here you little-" before Kakashi could finish his anger-induced sentence, she bounded away into the forest. Instinctively, Kakashi race after her. Weaving his way through the trees, he was a couple yards away from Kira as she lept skillfully from branch to branch.

"How can she have so much energy?" Kakashi said to himself. Suddenly, something jumped onto Kakashi's back and gripped his vest. He came to a skidding halt, reaching for a knife when he felt two hands cover his eyes.

"Gotcha!" he heard a familiar voice laugh. Before Kakashi could even lash out at the figure, it jumped off of him and bounded into the forest.

"How many of these does she have?" Kakashi panted. Before he could think of his next move, two more Doppler-gangers emerged from the brush, leaping ahead of him into the forest.

"Try'n catch us!" they sang, laughing widely as they disappeared. Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"Well, no use chasing them," he admitted, "I let my temper get the better of me. Besides, they'll disappear soon anyway. My best bet is to start looking from where we started. Hopefully she's waiting for me there."

Once Kakashi got back to the clearing where they started, he had worked himself into an exhausted state. It wasn't trekking through the forest that was hard, but every once and a while a Doppler-ganger would pounce on Kakashi and do something like steal his throwing knives or try to pummel him into a tree. It was not like Kakashi to lose his temper, but this child seemed to make him do it better than anyone else. What was it about her that was so irritating? She didn't disobey or was disrespectful in anyway, it was merely that fact that she was running him ragged without even trying.

But once he got to the clearing, he had calmed himself down, hoping that he could just leave as soon as possible.

"If she weren't so cute, I'd have probably blown up at that kid by now," Kakashi smiled to himself. But he was soon about to find out that cuteness had nothing to do with what she did next.

Not only did Kira complete what no other student of his could, namely taking the bell, but she had gotten to her lunch at least five minuets ago and had already starting eating. Kakashi looked down at her in shock as she looked up at him while leaning against the rock where he had put their food, hoping to hide it from her. She grinned up at him, licking the crumbs of what remained of her shrimp tempura off of her mouth.

"Hey, Kakashi sensei!" she smiled, "This stuff is good! How'd you know I like shrimp?" If there was ever a time Kakashi would strike a student, it was then.

"You…you…_You little insensitive brat!_" Kakashi screamed down at the startled child. "_You think this is just a game!? You think that you can just walk you way through this as if it were nothing!? Let me tell you something, you don't have what it takes to be a ninja! You can't take anything seriously! You can't even take your own teacher seriously! You're just a spoiled runt!_"

A dead silence was omitted from the forest. Except for a few birds and the lapping water from the lake behind them, Kakashi stared down in silence at his shocked student. He could feel the heat from anger come and go from his face. Never had he yelled before like to a student; to anybody, actually. Now that he started down at his student, her big ears back, her big crimson eyes looking up at him, he realized that he was still towering over her, quivering in anger. Suddenly, Kira let out an almost inaudible sigh, her ears going limp. She turned her head away, before muttering in a sad voice, "You're mean."

Kakashi felt a sigh escape from his mouth. He felt his shoulders drop as she stared down at his student, his anger melting. What she said, even though it was so simple, was so clear. Kira turned away so that her back was to him, as she set down the lunch box. Her tail had curved its way around her legs so that it rested in her hands. She wrung it thoughtfully, before saying in a quiet voice, "I was just doing my job. Maybe you should learn to do yours."

Kakashi sighed again, rubbing his fingers through his hair wearily. This was exactly what the mission had not called for. His mission was to gain her trust in the space of at least two months, and in two days, he was already screaming at her. He looked down at his student. It was noon, and the sun was high in the sky, its hot rays glinting off of Kira's dark brown hair. He could hear Kira give a soft whimper to herself as she felt Kakashi's eyes on her. Kakashi wanted to take back everything he said, he wanted to make it all better, but there was no turning back now. It looked as though he had already failed the mission.

Taking some time to leave her by herself, Kakashi slowly walked over to the stump where he had set the timer and ate his own lunch. While doing so, he studied his student. He never realized it, but her ears and tail were a good way to read her mood. He noticed that they were now limp, which probably meant that she was upset. He couldn't believe he never realized this before. Her tail also was puffed out when he was yelling at her. Anyone could see that that was a sure sign that she as scared.

Looking back on his previous cells and previous lesson, Kakashi realized right away that even if he did tie Kira up against the wooden pole at the end, it never would have worked.

For starters, Kira could definitely untie herself from the rope. Being a cat, she could probably compress her body to make it smaller, so that she could slide her way out of the rope. Plus, he could never catch her to tie her up any way. And eating his own lunch in front of her wouldn't be any taunting gesture. Kira wouldn't care at all. She would be able to tell that he was doing that to spite her, and simply keep talking until she drove him crazy, forcing him to untie her.

She really was a different student.

But then, something clicked in Kakashi's mind. It seemed as if this lesson was not a benefit for Kira, but a benefit for himself. To gain Kira's trust, he must first be able to make a connection to her. What better way to find out more about her than to watch her in action; see how her mind works, and what skills she has? Kakashi laughed to himself quietly, quoting from the famous line that he had heard so many times, "Shinobi must read the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings."

"Uh, listen, about what you were saying," Kakashi trailed off, scratching the back of his head. Surprised, his student shot up from her crouching position by the water, where she had been washing her hands free of tempura crumbs, to meet her teacher behind her.

"Uh, what was I saying?" she asked, flicking the water off of her fingers.

"You were saying all that stuff about me not doing my job?" Kakashi looked at her. Kyra's eye flickered for a second.

"Oh," she hesitated, "Uh, listen, about that, I didn't mean it…"

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asked, smiling, "I agree with you."

"Huh?" Kira flattened her ears slightly.

"I said I agree with you," Kakashi smiled warmly, kneeling down so that he was at eye level with her, "I never realized it, but you just may be the most important mission that I have been assigned to so far."

"Really?" Kira asked, scratching her ear, "I didn't think this was a mission or anything. I thought you were just my trainer."

"Technically, I was assigned to train you by my Hokage," Kakashi explained as simply as he could, "I was told that I would be dealing with a very different kind of student. And you are very different, Kira, but in a good way." A slight blush went across Kira's face. She never thought of different being any good.

"Ah," Kira stalled, her hand still behind her ear as she leaned back a bit, "I…don't really understand what you're saying. You mean…being different is a good thing?"

"It doesn't have to be," Kakashi said, "But what I'm saying is that you're special. Do you know why?" Kira looked at him sideways.

"Uh, 'cause I'm a cat?" she asked, holding her ears up with two hands. Kakashi laughed.

"More than that," he smiled, "You have a special power that very few Nekos have. Do you know what that is?" Kira shook her head.

"Wind," Kakashi smiled.

Kira's eyes widened; her ears perking forward.

"Yeah, doesn't everybody who lives here have that power?" she asked. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh again. Kira cocked her head, confused.

"Maybe you're a little too young to understand right now," he smiled, standing up, "But you will one day."

"I hope so," Kira sighed as she and Kakashi started back towards the village, the sun low in the sky casting a pink glow on the clouds, "All these secrets are no fun unless you have someone to share them with."


	4. Chapter 4

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, lowering his head to meet the crimson eyes of his student. Kira glared back at him, a smirk playing on her face, showing her small fangs. They had grown since the first time he had met her.

"Here I come," the Shinobi whispered, before darting towards her at top speed. Kira watched him dash towards her, her tail swishing eagerly.

_Closer…closer…closer…_

Kakashi reached for his kunai knife, raising it in attack.

"Too close!" Kira suddenly yelled; her hands protecting her face as a sudden force field of wind erupted in front of her. Kakashi was thrown back with the force of the storm with a violent tug as he collided with a tree. The wind still scoured the ground, lifting stray leaves until it faded away into the air. Kira peeked out from her splayed fingers slightly to see her teacher lying at the foot of the tree. Kira cautiously walked over to him, her ears pointed forward. Kakashi groaned slightly, opening his eyes as the pain in the back of his head banged and throbbed. Suddenly, his eyes met two shining crimson eyes, which were replaced with a mouth with two fangs grinning the words, "Gotcha!"

"Very good," Kakashi smiled wearily, standing up on weak legs as Kyra jumped around him, "I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to use that much force."

Kira giggled, scratching her ear, "I guess I got carried away."

"No, that's good," Kakashi smiled, scratching her ear as she grinned up at him, "It means you have control over your wind powers. Plus, it means your finally taking me seriously enough to attack me with full effort." Kira blushed slightly, giggling.

"What's next?" she asked, running in a short circle and stopping to look up at him, "Huh? What's next!? What's next!?"

"That's it," Kakashi smiled downward at her, "The lesson's over. You can go home now. But I'll see you Monday, okay?" Kira looked slightly crestfallen, but her smile returned and she grinned up at her teacher.

"Okie-dokie!" she sang, running back in the direction towards the village, "See ya, Kakashi sensei!" Kakashi smiled, adjusting the bag on his shoulder and continued in the same direction.

_I like this place, _Kakashi thought, as he strolled through the streets of Uindo. It was different from the village of sand, and other places in the Land of Wind. It looked a lot like Konoha: green grass, full trees, plentiful and bright sakura trees…he could get used to this place. It was almost like a little patch of heaven amidst all the barren sand filled deserts that scoured the rest of the Land of Wind. He had been living here for two months maybe, as they had started training in May and it was now the month of July, getting up every morning to go for a nice walk, explore the grounds, spend time with the plentiful elite ninjas, but the thing he looked forward to the most was training the little kitten girl that everyone fussed over so much. The whole village seemed to adore her, except for the school children. For some reason, they always seemed to mock her, and make fun of her appearance. But the adults seemed to take pride in her; they looked at her with a sort of awe in their eyes, a sort of knowing smile.

_Still, _Kakashi thought, watching a gaggle of school children pass him, laughing and playing, _I haven't seen any other Neko clan members here. Why is she the only one?_

Kakashi sighed, lost in thought as he made his way to his apartment as the setting sun cast shadows in the walls of his apartment building. There was some sort of secret this village was holding.

"I hope you don't mind me coming over during your busy schedule, Miu-san," Kakashi said as he took a seat in the living room. The woman took a seat in the chair on the opposite side of the coffee table, setting down a tray of green tea as she did so.

"Not at all," she said in her soft voice, smiling at him with her glimmering azure eyes, "What can I do for you, Kakashi-kun?" Kakashi was still for a second, contemplating on how to string his words together: it was a delicate subject, he presumed.

"Well, it's about Kira," he started off, as the woman took a cup of tea and lifted it towards her face.

"Oh," she smiled pleasantly, her ears limp and calm, "Is she doing all right? I hope she isn't running you ragged."

"No, not at all," Kakashi smiled, waving a hand, "She's a good work out. I wish I had had more students like her."

"Kittens are very energetic and active," the cat woman smiled, "But she is very sweet and well behaved, is she not?"

"Yes, very," Kakashi nodded, smiling. He took a second to survey the room they were in. It was a traditional house, nothing unusual. It was very beautiful and spacious though, with tall windows and doors that let in early afternoon sunlight, accompanied with a few potted banzai plants.

"What I wanted to ask is," Kakashi started, meeting the mother's serene eyes, "Is…I haven't seen any other cat women in this village. Is there a reason for that?"

Miu looked up at Kakashi from her cup of tea. Her eyes flicked for a second as she looked to the side, setting the cup down a bit shakily.

"…H-how…did you notice?" she asked softly, not looking at him.

"I didn't know it was so hard to miss," Kakashi confessed softly, "Miu-san, please, I don't mean any harm. I'm just curious to know a little more about my student. Please," Miu's watery blue eyes met his, "Please," Kakashi said softly, "Just tell me all you know."

Miu sighed shakily, adjusting her seating position as she rolled up the sleeves on her kimono.

"I used to live in Kaze with the other Neko clan members," Miu explained, a faint smile behind her voice, "I was married to an ANBU Suna of the Katana clan. I worked there as a healer. We were very happy there," her voice quivered on that last sentence as Kakashi watched her dab her eye with her sleeve. She took a shaky breath.

"Then, Orochimaru attacked," she almost whispered. Kakashi felt his body tense up when he heard these words, so often repeated in Konoha.

"Orochimaru?" he asked softly, leaning forward. Miu nodded.

"He came to slaughter all Neko clan members," she sniffed, "By the time, my husband was already dead. But, Kira was only about three years old. Everyone, Nekos and ninjas came to attack. Orochimaru's henchmen were everywhere, scouring the village for Nekos. I-It was horrible," she sniffed again, adjusting her voice and continuing, "I was so afraid for her, because of…her power. We all knew she had the power. All Kaze-Konekos have red eyes. I guess Uindo never found out that she was the one because they didn't know. Nekos never lived here at all," she turned to Kakashi, her lips trying to form a faint smile.

"Why didn't you tell them that she was the one?" Kakashi asked. Miu shook her head, her voice coming out as a pained whisper.

"Kakashi-san, you have to understand," she spoke softly, "I didn't want that life for my daughter. The Kaze Koneko is one of the most respected Ninja in all the land, but they are also the most sought after. Hundreds of ninja squads are assigned to capture the Kaze-Koneko and harness her power, or worse, to assassinate." Kakashi must have flinched in horror, because Miu shook her head, "I know, it seems foolish to kill something so prize-worthy, by some people are so threatened by the fact of a Neko having skilled tai-jutsu and wind powers that they are forced to kill then. And worse, some people are disgusted," she closed her eyes, furrowing her brow as she spoke, "Some people, like Orochimaru, are disgusted with the whole clan together, because they see them as a threat."

Kakashi nodded, the pieces of the puzzle finally fitting into place.

"Why here?" he suddenly asked.

"Because I knew that if they found her, that if they found her powers, that Orochimaru would turn her into a monster," Kira's mother said through tears, "I came to live here, and the city helped protect us. I knew that she would lead a different life to the other children here…that she would never know what it was like to be with her own kind…but…to be in such risk of being captured by Orochimaru…I couldn't let that happen to my kitten….my only kitten…"

Kakashi sighed bitterly. The poor woman had done everything she could to protect her child, and yet he knew that the world would soon be after Kira, trying to take her away from her. Kakashi couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

"Thank you very much, Miu-san," he said softly, getting up from his seat and bowing graciously, "Thank so much for telling me." The woman wiped her eyes, smiling through her tears as a small laugh escaped her mouth.

"I'm so sorry," she smiled, getting up and facing Kakashi, "It's been a while since I told that story."

"Don't be sorry," Kakashi said, looking somewhat sadly at the woman as she dabbed her eyes for the last time, "I'm glad I know now." Miu bowed appreciatively, when one of her ears swiveled towards the right. Her head looked over to the staircase next to them. Her eyes widened, as she stood up, looking to the right. Confused, Kakashi looked in her direction. At first, he could see nothing, but all of a sudden, Miu spoke, "Kira…I…"

Kakashi felt his stomach churn with nerves when he saw the kitten hiding behind the staircase, her face veiled by shadows. She stepped a few paces away from the shadows, and Kakashi saw tears in her eyes. She had heard everything.

"Kira, please," Miu said softly, taking a step further, but was interrupted by Kira's tearful words.

"Why?" she choked out the words, tears streaming from her crimson eyes, "Why did you do that to me?" Kakashi felt a pang of sadness was he watched his students' tears drip from her face, her ears limp. He had never seen her like this before, and it upset him greatly.

"Kira, I did it for you," Miu desperately tried to explain, "I had to…"

Suddenly, with out warning, Kira's ear flung up as her eyes blazed with anger, her small fangs bared.

"Do you know what it's like!?" she yelled, her voice clenched with tears, "Do you know what it's like to have no friends!? To be alone all the time, with out a single person to turn to? To know that there is not a single other person out there that will look at you as something other than a freak? Do you know what that's like!?"

"Kira, please," Kakashi tried to reason, as her mother was taken a back by her odd behavior. Kakashi was frightened by Kira's angry disposition, but more than anything, he wanted to console her and make everything better. But before he had a chance to, Kira suddenly wiped her nose with a soft whimper and dashed past him, rocketing out of the house. Kakashi and Miu watched with disbelief as in a matter of seconds they were left in the room alone.

"Kira-chan!" Miu called out the open door from across the room, but only a calm summer breeze answerer them, making a wind chime shimmer somewhere off in the distance.

"She's gone," Kakashi said quietly, "She's still too fast for me."

"Kakashi-san," Miu suddenly said, coming up to him with tears in his eyes, "I-I'm so sorry this had to happen now, I-I didn't know she was liste-"

"Its okay, Miu-san," Kakashi said softly, putting a reassuring hand on the woman's shoulder, "I'm going to find her. I can track her easily, you just need to be calm and wait here. She'll be okay, its better that she found out now than never." Miu gulped, nodding.

"Thank you," she whispered. Kakashi nodded and dashed out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

"Stupid humans," Kira muttered through tears, bounding through the forest, trees rushing past her. "Stupid Kakashi sensei," she sniffed, wiping her nose as she sprung off of a tree trunk and landed on a tree branch, taking perch on its firm wood. She took a minuet to gulp back the tears that forced their way through her eyes. She took shaky breathes as she wiped her blurry eyes, the cooling wind wiping the tears away from her face.

"I-I-I wish I had never met K-Kakashi sensei," Kira growled through tears. Suddenly, her ear swiveled behind her, where she heard the crashing of leaves. She immediately recognized the footsteps that were coming closer. Quickly, she scurried up the tree trunk, leaping onto its branches going higher until she reached a particularly large branch that she curled up on, hiding her face in her hands.

"Kira!" Kakashi called form beneath the tree, "Kira! Come down!"

_Man, _Kira moaned mentally, _how did he see me?_

"No!" Kira snapped back from high up in the tree, her voice echoing through the trees, "Go away! I hate you!"

"Kira, you don't mean that," Kakashi said calmly, scaling the tree towards her.

"Yes I do!" Kira yelled as Kakashi climbed the tree trunks branches that reached out like arms, "I hate all humans! I hate them! I HATE THEM!" Kakashi emerged from the tangle of branches to see the back of his student, her head buried in her hands as she continued to gulp back sobs, her ears limp and her tail hanging beneath her. Kakashi sighed in despair.

"Kira, please don't cry," Kakashi said softly. Kira sensed the upset tone in his voice, but forgot about it when she remembered what her mother said.

"My mother lied to me!" she gulped again, not taking her head out of her hands, "She made me feel so alone! I so badly wanted friends, and I couldn't have any because I'm a freak!"

"Don't say that Kira," Kakashi said more sternly, inching his way across the branches towards her so as not to startle her. It was silent for a while as Kira adjusted to Kakashi's new tone. She shook her head, the tears continuing to drip from her eyes onto her hands.

"Why did she do that to me?" she whimpered, her voice rising in anger, "Why did she have to let me grow up in a world like this?" Kakashi finally inched over to her enough so that he was on the same branch that she was on. He carefully took a seat beside her, looking at her sadly. It pained him to see her like this.

"Kira, your mother loves you very much," Kakashi said softly, looking out at the forest before them, "She did it because she wanted you to have a happy life."

"But I'm not happy," Kira sniffed, wiping her eyes so that Kakashi finally saw a glimpse of their red and watery color, "I mean…I am…but…I could be a lot happier if I had friends….I just want friends so badly…"

"Your mother took you here because if you stayed in the village, you would be in very great danger," Kakashi explained softly, reaching out to wipe a tear from her pale cheek.

"You mean…O-Orochimaru?" Kira asked quietly, her sobs subsiding.

"Yes, how do you know that?" Kakashi asked softly, surprised somewhat.

"L-Late one night," Kira explained shakily, pausing ever few minuets to hiccup, "I heard the Kazekage, the leader of Uindo, and a bunch of other men talking with my mom. It was after they found out about my wind powers. They talked about Orochimaru and h-how he wanted find me so he c-could use me…or something like that…."

"Yes, that's the short and the long of it," Kakashi said softly, "So, do you see why she had to do that?"

"I-I guess," Kira nodded, "I mean…I-I don't want to m-meet this O-Orochimaru guy…he sounds s-scary."

"Hopefully, you'll never have to meet him," Kakashi smiled, letting Kira grip his arm so that he could lift her up.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, setting her down and kneeling to face her. She nodded, her smile returning.

"Yeah," she nodded her head, "I feel lots better."

"You have friends, you know that?" he smiled down at her, "You have me and your mom, right?" Kira stared up at him and smiled, her tail wagging.

Kakashi didn't hear it, but Kira did, for she turned her head in an instant, her eyes wide. Before Kakashi could ask what was wrong, a hissing noise filled the air, until it was cut off by Kira giving a painful yelp that pierced the air like a knife. Startled and afraid, Kakashi attempted to grab Kira by the shoulders as she wavered, but it was too late. She suddenly tipped off of the tree and plummeted through the branches towards the ground, her body limp.

"No!" Kakashi yelled, fear swimming through his body. His jumped into action as he fell through the branches after her, his heart beat banging in his ears.

Mid fall, Kira awoke from the painful blur and without another thought, positioned herself so that she landed on all fours once she burst through the leaves and hit the ground. Kakashi immediately followed and landed on his feet as well. However, Kira immediately fell forward, curling up into a ball as she gasped in pain. Kakashi raced forward, kneeling beside her crumpled figure.

"Kira! Oh, Kira, are you okay? What happened to you?" Kira only gave somewhat of a high-pitched chirp of pain as she shut her eyes tightly, her mouth open but no sound coming out, new tears spilling from her shut eyes. Kakashi felt his blood go cold with fear. What was wrong with her? If anything happened to her…Kakashi shook the thoughts away. He gently turned her body over and flinched at what he saw: a black metal arrow protruding from her thigh, dark red blood spilling from the wound and staining her pale skin. Kakashi's eyes widened in horror.

_Who could have done this? _

Kakashi's horror was soon replaced with anger as he saw his student's tearful eyes look up at him, wincing in pain.

_Whoever did this will pay._

"Goddamn, I didn't know you would be here."

Kakashi slowly turned behind him. Standing there was an unknown ninja, clad in traditional Shinobi outerwear, with kunai and shuriken strapped to his vest, but the thing that caught Kakashi's eye first was the symbol imprinted on his headband.

"The Land of Sound?" Kakashi asked softly, standing and taking a step further, "It's been a while."

"Indeed," the ninja nodded, a sinister smirk playing on his lips, "We may not have met, but I have heard stories. Kakashi Hatake: The Great Copy Ninja. I can't believe I'm meeting face to face with the biggest insult to Konoha."

Kakashi felt his body sear with anger, but the minute he heard the slightest mewl from Kira, who still lay on the ground, curled up in pain, Kakashi took a step to the side so that he towered over her.

Kira looked up to see her sensei above her. She stared up at him in awe, trying to lift her body up more to survey the scene but fell back down in agony as pain burned through her body. She had never seen her teacher act this way; in his true battle stance. It was as if a dark shadow as passed over him, and it frightened her. The ninja cackled wickedly as he watched the Shinobi guard his student, her body poised for defense.

"Right on target," he laughed, motioning towards the metal arrow that stuck out of Kira's thigh, still rippling blood, "I must say, finding her was pretty hard, but I was surprised when I saw her here with you."

"What do you want with her?" Kakashi growled, his eyes fixed on the ninja as he circled the girl slightly like a vulture on wounded prey.

The ninja only cackled fiercely, his voice sending chills up Kira's spine as she lay curled up, shaking with fear. The Ninja grinned, his words laced with venom as he growled the words, "Orochimaru sends his warmest regards,"

Kakashi's eyes widened when he heard this name. Quickly, his laid a hand on one of his kunai knives, looking at the stranger with utmost anger in his eyes as he snarled the words, "If you take one step closer to her, I'll cut your throat."

Kira had never heard her teacher talk like this, and it scared her slightly. She watched with teary eyes as the Sound ninja continued to cackle.

"Looks like there might be a little more blood spilt today than I thought," the ninja smirked, staring at Kira. Kira quickly turned away, her eyes wide as she trembled with fear.

"Never thought I would see an actual Neko," the ninja remarked, smirking at the fear in the girl's eyes, "So rare these days; you only here stories about them from the war. Then again, I never thought I'd be seeing you, either." The stranger drummed his fingers on the katana that was strapped to his belt, smirking down at Kakashi, "Fate's funny, huh?"

Kakashi looked back at his student, looking at the fear in her eyes. She looked back at him, trembling, with big scarlet eyes that were open wide, beginning to see her teacher for the very first time.

Suddenly, he realized why he was sent to train her.

Kakashi slowly raised a hand to his head band, gripping the cold metal.

"Not many ninja get to see this," Kakashi warned, slowly lifting it from his face, "But in your case, I think I can make an exception." Kira watched in amazement as Kakashi prepared himself to lift the headband from his eye. Kira had always wondered why he kept it slanted over one eye, and had asked repeatedly, and even attempted to take it off at one point, but she never thought that now would be the time for him to reveal his other eye.

"The Sharingan," the ninja smirked, "I feel deeply honored." Kira didn't know what the Sharingan was, but as far as she was concerned, it was the most feared thing in the world.

"Kakashi sensei!" Kyra suddenly yelped, squirming in her spot. Kakashi looked back at her, his eyes briefly drained of anger as he calmly spoke to her, "Don't worry Kira, it'll be okay. I won't let you get hurt. I just need you to close your eye for a minuet, okay?"

Kira felt her stomach churn at these words, fearing what might happen, but when she looked back at her teachers calm eyes, letting her know that she was okay, she knew just how protected she was.

She trusted him.

She did as she was told and lay back down, her face buried in her hands.

Once sure that she couldn't see, Kakashi turned to the ninja, raising his headband, showing his gleaming red Sharingan eye.

"Wise advice," the ninja smirked, reaching for his kunai knife, "I wouldn't want her to have to watch someone get sliced in front of her."

"Like wise," Kakashi said.

"Why do you want to protect her so much?" the ninja asked, lowering his eyes, "What makes her so special to you?" Kira peeked out slightly from her fingers, looking up at the Shinobi standing above her, almost a dark stranger now.

"Because," Kakashi said softly, lowering his hand and laying it on his kunai knife. Kira ears pointed forward breifly, watching with wide eyes as she heard her teacher say, "She is something precious to me. I will protect her with my life."

In an instant, both ninja leapt at each other, knives raised. In a clash of metal they met, both of them jumping back, furiously weaving hand signs. Kakashi observed the enemies attack with his Sharingan and noticed the sign of the tiger. Quickly, just as the Sound ninja was preparing his attack, Kakashi raised his hands in defense as the Sound ninja hurled the stream of fire at him. A tunnel of wind erupted and sent the flames scattering, searing into ash. The ninja covered his eyes as the powerful gust brought the flames back onto him. He quickly regained himself and flipped himself backwards so that he landed on the tree behind him as the wind ceased. He rubbed his eyes free of ambers and stared down at the ninja.

"What sort of technique is that?" he growled in pain.

"That one, I learned from the person you were sent to capture," Kakashi smirked, "The Kaze Koneko."

"Copy cat," the ninja snarled, hurtling himself from the tree with his kunai knife raised. Before Kakashi had a chance to defend himself with his own kunai knife, the Sound ninja grabbed the shuriken strapped to his vest and threw them at Kakashi. The sharp jagged pieces of metal pierced Kakashi's skin, flinging him to the ground. The ninja dropped to his feet, staring down at the body ridden with Shiruken.

"Hah, got distracted by the knife, huh?" he smirked, letting the decoy kunai knife drop from his hand with a clang, "Guess you're finished." As he ended his sentence, the Shinobi's body suddenly dissipated in a shroud of smoke, leaving a rotted log with Shiruken jutting out of its bark.

"What!?" the ninja yelled furiously, "What the hell!? Is this a joke!? I'm not here to play games!" The ninja widely looked around the forest, listening for the slightest sound of the copy Ninja. The only sound that answered his furious yelling was the calls of birds. Panting in rage, the ninja turned to the Neko girl on the ground, trembling in a tiny ball. He huffed in smugness.

"Look at you," he snarled from afar, "The great Kaze Koneko. You have no idea how many people have died trying to capture you." He took a step closer towards the frightened kitten, growling the words with relish, "I could break your little arm now if I wanted to." With those last words, a kunai knife came flying from a tree and stabbed the ninjas arm. The ninja screamed in pain as the blood spilt from the wound, dripping onto the ground. He wavered backwards, quickly pulling the knife from his arm with a pained scream and tossing it aside.

"Come on!" he screamed, almost blinded by pain now, "Come on! Fight me!" Silence issued again, except for the soft fearful panting from the cat girl, still curled up in a defensive ball. The ninja spun around blindly, trying to find the Shinobi.

"Show yourself!" he screamed, "Fight me! I'm not going to fail on this mission! I came here to kill whatever fools that dared protect this monster! Show yourself!"

"Behind you," a voice whispered.

Suddenly, a knife was thrust into his back, ripping the inside of the ninja until it protruded through his stomach, erupting red blood. The ninja did not scream, but held his mouth open as Kakashi dug the knife in further, blood pouring from his prey's mouth as he gagged on the thick red substance. Slowly, the ninja fell to his knees, and finally fell over onto the ground, the blood collecting in a pool around him.

Kakashi lifted the blade from his back with some difficulty, staring down at his victim with his blood flecked face. It was done.

As his thirst for blood faded and he lost the desire, to battle he turned to his student. She was in a sitting position, her face flecked with blood. She watched wide eyed as the pool of blood edged towards her, her tail bristled.

Kakashi breathed, dropping the blade with a loud clang, walking over to his student and kneeling down, gathering her trembling body into his arms.

"I told you not to look," Kakashi breathed the words as the child shook in his arms. He shook his head remorsefully as he wiped the blood on her face, looking at her big tearful eyes, glimmering in the sun light: the blood red eyes of the Kaze Koneko.

"It's okay," he said softly, "Its over. You don't have to be afraid anymore. I got you." Kira merely nodded as the wind glided past them, sending the stray leaves around them soaring into the air. The warmth and exuberance of summer seemed to return as the sound of rustling leaves and birds chirping filled the air. Kira sucked in the fresh air before suddenly falling limp in the Shinobi's arms. Kakashi smiled warmly, gently picking her up in his arms and getting up. Adjusting her light form in his arms, he walked her back to the village where they were waiting for him to return with her, where she could get proper care from her mother.

"Who knows what other challenges are to come?" he smiled down at her, "But for now, I think you can sleep. You've had a long day, Kira."


	6. Chapter 6

PART 2

"I've been thinking," the Uindo leader said thoughtfully, folding his hands and looking at the Shinobi. The Uindo leader was a young man, only in his early thirties, but he possessed a great maturity and gentleness about him that made him as responsible and wise as the Hokage of Konoha. It seemed that he and the Shinobi were quite alike.

"What have you been thinking about, Hisakata?" Kakashi asked, slightly intrigued by the smile on the young man's face.

"I've been thinking," Hisakata continued, "That it's time she was sent to the Chunin exams." Kakashi felt his head snap up in attention.

"What?" he asked, fearing he didn't hear the sentence clear enough, "You mean…?"

"Yes," Hisakata smiled through his silk white hair, "She's definitely Chunin material." Kakashi was silent for a second as memories of his own Chunin experience ran through his mind. He remembered the challenges, the fear, the danger…

"…Are you sure she's old enough?" Kakashi asked; his voice dropping into almost a whisper.

"Of course," Hisakata smiled confidently, nodding gently as he leaned back in his seat slightly, "In fact, she should have applied years ago, at the age of six, even, if we knew that she was the Kaze Koneko. Unfortunately, we didn't know until about three months ago, so at her age right now, she'll fit in perfectly with the other Nekos. She's still a kitten, but this is the prime age that most Nekos take the exam at anyway," he shifted through a couple papers on his desk, scanning them briefly as Kakashi stared at him, slightly aggrieved, "And from what you've told me, she sounds more than ready," Hisakata continued, looking at the Shinobi, "Anyway, she'll have to go back to Kaze to take the exams, but only for a little while. There are special Neko exams that are taken, which will start in three months. So when that time comes, you and her will go up to Kaze and take the exams."

Kakashi sighed, shaking his head slightly in disbelief, his shoulders sagging. How could she be old enough already? She still seemed like only a kitten to Kakashi. She was always eager to run and play; she was still amazed by the smallest things. Was she really old enough?

"Do you not think she's ready?" Hisakata asked the quiet Shinobi, slightly concerned by his silence. Kakashi snapped back to attention, looking at the Uindo leader.

"Huh?" he asked absentmindedly, "Uh, well—you know—it just seems so soon …I mean, she's only eight—well, I took my exam around that age, it's just—for her—she's just so…" Kakashi trailed off.

Hisakata smiled at the Shinobi, who stared off into nowhere in particular, lost in thought.

"You don't want her to grow up, do you?" he asked, a faint smile behind his voice. Kakashi looked at him.

"What do you mean?" he asked, fidgeting nervously in his seat.

"I don't blame you," Hisakata laughed slightly. "She's a great kid. Spending all that time training her and getting to know her, well, she must have grown under your skin by now, right?"

Kakashi never really realized it, but the times that he had spent with Kira were some of the brightest, happiest days he could remember. He remembered how his life was before he came to Uindo to teach the untrusting energetic kitten, and how tense and somewhat dark his life was before. There were days when he would teach Kira a new move and proudly watch as she mastered it, her skills growing right before his eyes. There were days when the weather was so good that they would just sit by the water, Kakashi reading to Kira (skipping a few chapters in the process due to content) as she listened intently. And there were some days when Kakashi just talked and Kira just listened. She was so happy just being with Kakashi, exploring and learning everything with him, and he was so happy watching her learn and laugh and play. The thought made Kakashi's heart twist with an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time.

He did not want her to grow up at all.

"Well…," Kakashi fixed his voice quickly so it had no trace of sadness in it, "Like you said, she's a great kid. I'm just a little worried, I guess."

"Please, Kakashi, don't worry," Hisakata said kindly, "She can do it. There's still a lot her have to learn about her."

Kakashi looked up at the young man and smiled sadly.

"All in good time," he smiled softly.


	7. Chapter 7

_La, la la-la-la, la __la_. _La, la la-la la, la..._

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes to the glare of the bright sun beaming down on him. He shielded the rays with a hand and slowly sat up. He looked from his spot against the rock to see his student by the sakura tree that stood one of many that surrounded them in the secluded meadow. He watched in curiosity as Kira gathered up the small, soft cherry blossoms and threw them in the air, watching them dance in the wind as she hummed the melodious tune to herself.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Kakashi smiled as he called out to her. Kira turned to him and raced towards him, holding something in her hands as the wind glided past her, sending the cherry blossom petals scattering against the shimmering green grass.

"Kakashi sensei, you fell asleep!" she laughed, letting herself drop next to him on the grass.

"Maybe you should sleep, too," Kakashi said with an amused smile, "I've never seen you sleep." Kira frowned slightly and rolled red her eyes.

"Boring, Kakashi," she stated emphatically, before singing while tipping her head from side to side, "Boring, boring, boring." She suddenly smiled and reached into her pocket to pull out a handful of flower petals.

"Look at the sakura blossoms." She held out in her small hands the pink petals.

"The trees here are very beautiful," Kakashi remarked, taking a soft petal and studying it, "Soon they'll be gone. It's almost September."

"Yeah, but then the fall flowers will come," Kira smiled, her tail swishing gently, "See? Something to look forward to with every season." Kira stood up and threw the petals in the air, then carefully moved her hands back and forth; creating a soft whisper of wind that guided the petals in the air. Kakashi watched from his sitting position as she sent the petals raining down on him.

"You love sakura blossoms, don't you, Kira?' Kakashi smiled warmly. Kira turned to him and grinned.

"Yep," she smiled, looking at the dancing pink petals, "They remind me of someone."

"Of who?" Kakashi asked, sitting up more to look at his student. Kira let a petal land on her outstretched hand and smiled.

"A boy," she said.

"A boy?" Kakashi asked, intrigued as he asked in a jeering voice, "Was he your boyfriend?" Kira wrinkled her nose at him.

"No," she frowned begrudgingly, making Kakashi laugh slightly in amusement. Kira softened as she turned back to her cherry blossom petal, saying softly, "He was my best friend."

Kakashi studied the expression on her face curiously.

"Who was this friend of yours?" Kira turned to her teacher and her smile returned.

"He was from Suna," she explained, "My parents took me to meet him about a year ago. I think he was, like, the Kazekage's son, or something." Kakashi raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Really?" he asked.

"Or something like that," Kira shrugged, the warm wind tousling her hair around her face, "Anyway, I remember the day I met him. I remember his name." She looked at the soft petal in her small hands and smiled, "Gaara of the sand."

"Now, Kira, when you meet the Kazekage, remember to call him Lord Kazekage," Miu said as she kneeled in front of her kitten, fixing her tousled hair.

"Okay," Kira chirped, prying her eyes away from the sand covered village, "Mommy, there sure is a lot of sand here."

"This is where I used to live, kiddo," a voice said behind her as a hand came down to pat her head, "And soon, you'll be a part of Suna ANBU, living and working here just like me."

"Who said that?" Miu smiled, standing up to take her husband's hand, "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Kaito sighed.

"You don't have to be so nervous," Miu said to her husband as they walked across the sand ridden path towards the tall building ahead of them, "You know the Kazekage every well; It's only been a few years."

"That's not what I'm nervous about," Kaito muttered.

"Mommy, who am I meeting again?" Kira asked, leaning forward as her mother grasped her small hand.

"You are meeting the Kazekage and his son," Miu explained, "We want you to talk to the son and try to be friends with him, okay?"

"Okay!" Kira chirped happily as the large doors were open. They were greeted by a formally dressed guard you led them into the building and down the hallway to a room. While Kira's father received "welcome backs" from surrounding Suna villagers and Miu kept her blue eyes ahead of her, Kira stared up at the ceilings and at the walls. She had never been to Suna before, or been inside such a large building, so during their few minuets walking in Suna, Kira's wide eyes never ceased to be open in curiosity.

"Daddy, there's no sakura trees here," Kira tugged at her father's sleeve.

"That's right," Kaito nodded as they stepped into the building, "No trees like that grow here." Kira frowned, letting out a soft "Aw".

When they entered the room, they were greeted by a tall, older looking man who looked to be a few years older than Kaito and Miu.

"Kaito, good to see you again," the man smiled at Kaito.

"Good to see you too," Kaito nodded, smiling, "It's been a while."

"This must be your wife," the Kazekage smiled, looking at the Neko woman who smiled politely, "It's nice to meet you. Your husband is a valued member of the Suna ANBU."

"Thank you," Miu bowed slightly. Kira watched the greetings and, soon becoming bored, began looking around the room. It was mostly empty, except for a few chairs and windows. She presumed this was an office of some sort. Kira sighed, shuffling her feet and gazing around the room tiredly. Boring, she thought to herself.

Meanwhile, a small, auburn haired boy was standing behind his father. He didn't want to come and meet the new people. He didn't want to see Suna's finest blades man, or the Neko woman he had brought with him, or the Neko women he had brought with him. He just wanted to go to his room and be alone; to think. He clutched the teddy bear in his hand tighter as the adults delved deeper into their conversation, shutting him out.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of red. Curious by this surprisingly vibrant color, he poked his head out from behind his father to see a young girl his age standing there. He widened his eyes in curiosity. She had the cat ears he had heard so much about, and a small tail tat swished behind her. He studied her curiously. But it wasn't her big tan ears or tail that made him stare; it the color of her glistening red eyes. He had never seen a color like them before.

Kira felt a pair of eyes on her. Although she was used to eyes being on her all the time, she turned to see who was looking at her. She saw, hiding behind the Kazekage, a small red haired boy poking his head out to look at her with his dark outlined eyes. When she saw the red haired boy staring back at her, her heart jumped and she quickly scooted behind her father's back, clutching his pant leg. When she poked her head out from behind him, she saw the strange boy still staring at her with his outline eyes, now coming out from behind his father's back to look at her. Kira shyly covered her mouth with a hand and hid behind her father again.

"Well, it seems Gaara has already taken a liking to your daughter," the Kazekage laughed, looking down at his son. Kaito and Miu laughed together, looking down at their daughter.

"Kira-chan," Miu smiled, taking her daughter's hand and leading her out behind Kaito, "This is Gaara." Kira was put face to face with the strange auburn haired boy. Gaara gulped when her eyes met his, and he suddenly became very shy.

"Gaara-kun, this is Kira," the Kazekage said, putting a hand on his son's head, "Why don't you go play with her for a while?" Gaara turned to his father worriedly, but the adults had already proceeded out of the room together, leaving the two children alone in the empty room.

Gaara turned to the cat girl. Now that she wasn't hiding, he could see her red eyes even more. Gaara realized he was still holding onto his teddy bear, and, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed, set it on the ground. Kira didn't move. She stood there, nibbling on her fingertip as she studied the boy in front of him. Gaara stared at her. They had never seen another one like each other before.

"…H-hi," Gaara blurted out suddenly, his voice shaky and uneven, "I-I'm Gaara…nice to meet you." Gaara surprised himself; he never talked to other children before, let alone so nicely. What possessed him to act so kind towards her? Kira said nothing; she only stared back at him with wide eyes. Gaara flinched; was it something he said? Had he scared her, like all the rest? He felt his face flush as he uncomfortably forced his eyes downward, scolding himself for whatever he did to scare her.

Suddenly, Kira leaned forward, sticking her face into Gaara's face, her eyes narrowed. Gaara gulped and pulled back slightly as her red eyes bore into his teal ones. Had he made her angry? What did he do now?

_She really doesn't have to stand this close, _Gaara thought to himself nervously.

"…You got…something on your eyes," the girl mumbled, narrowing her eyes.

Gaara blinked. "…W-what?" he stammered. Without warning, Kira grabbed Gaara's face with one hand, and with her other, ran her tongue over it and began to rub Gaara's eye lids furiously. Surprised and frightened from not ever having someone touch him like this, Gaara pulled away with a yelp, rubbing his eyes.

"W-what are you doing?" Gaara asked shakily, rubbing his eyes. The cat girl stared back at him innocently.

"I thought you had something on your eyes," she explained, peering at the boy's dark outlined eyes. It was Gaara's turn to narrow his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked seriously, mildly up fronted. Kira cocked her head at him, her eyes never leaving Gaara's. Gaara began to get extremely uncomfortable, wondering if her eyes would ever leave him, until he saw the girl wrinkle her nose, letting out a laugh

"You're funny, Gaara-kun," she laughed. Gaara, taken aback, opened his mouth to speak, but no words would come. He felt his face grow hot again as the girl giggled at him; no one had ever given him a compliment before.

"…Uh—do you want to go outside, Koneko-san?" Gaara asked quietly, feeling slightly up lifted and more confident now.

"Okay," Kira chirped brightly, following Gaara out the door, "And Gaara-kun, please call me Kira." Gaara looked at her hesitatingly before nodding shyly.

"Okay, Kira-chan."

"Gaara-kun, you're so good with sand," Kira observed, watching as the sand in the air mimicked Gaara's hand movement. Gaara let the sand fall, the wind gliding past him, sending the sand grains skidding across the barren ground. Gaara was silent, watching the sand drift across the ground. He had been showing his sand techniques to Kira, who watched them with amazement. Kira noticed Gaara's silence, and looked at him from her sitting position on the rock, cocking her head.

"People don't like it when I use the sand," Gaara said quietly, his back towards Kira, "If I'm not careful…I can make mistakes…bad mistakes." Kira listened intently, frowning when Gaara turned to her, saying quietly, "Kira-chan…I…think I'm a monster."

Kira blinked at Gaara, twitching one of her big tan ears. Gaara expected Kira to recoil, or make an attempt to leave, but suddenly, she stood up and strode right over to Gaara, putting her face in his again. She grinned.

"You're not a monster, silly," she laughed, "You're just Gaara."

Gaara blinked. His heart almost skipped a beat.

"Y-You mean…you don't think I'm a monster?" he asked somewhat nervously.

"No, of course not," Kira shook her head, "If you're a monster for being good with sand, then I'm a monster too." Gaara looked at her oddly, cocking his head slightly.

"What do you mean, Kira-chan?" he asked. Kira turned away a bit, turning back to smile at him.

"Look," she said, putting her hand into her shirt pocket. To Gaara's surprise, she pulled out a handful of pink petals.

"What are those?" Gaara asked in wonder, crouching down to look at the flower petals in Kira's hand.

"Sakura petals," Kira scoffed, amazed at Gaara's question, "Don't tell me you've never seen a sakura tree before."

"No, never," Gaara said, his voice hushed and amazed as Kira's was when he showed her his sand techniques.

"You've never seen a sakura tree?" Kira asked in amazement, "You should, they're very beautiful. They grow everywhere where I live." Kira took the sakura petals in her hand and tossed them into the air, and, with one movement of her hand, sent the petals soaring into the air with a gust of wind. Gaara watched as the petals drifted in the air, his dark outlined eyes now wide. The wind swooped in the air, sending the petals spiraling around Kira. She squealed and laughed as the petals danced around her in the dry air, the wind tousling her hair, the soft pink petals mixing with the grains of sand. She spun around so that the wind around her mimicked her movement, sending the pink petals in the flurry.

"Beautiful…"

Kira didn't notice that Gaara had gone completely still as he watched the scene before him. She turned to him, the wind receding around her.

"What is?" Kira asked, the petals falling to the ground as the wind fell into a soft whisper. Gaara was silent for a while, looking at the petals on the ground that scraped on the dry, sand ridden ground.

"…The sakura petals," Gaara said softly, picking up a petal and looking at it, "I've never seen a flower before. They're…beautiful." Kira smiled, walking over to Gaara.

"Yes, they are," she smiled warmly. She watched Gaara for a bit as he looked at the petal, before realizing that Kira was staring at him. He looked up to see Kira's eyes once more boring into his, but this time, their expression was different.

"Gaara-kun," Kira said softly, her voice different, "You…like me, don't you?" Gaara blinked, slightly surprised.

"Of course. I like Kira-chan very much," Gaara said seriously, looking downward. A soft blush was on his face as he smiled the words, "You're…my first, and only, best friend."

Kira widened her eyes, nibbling on her finger nervously, feeling a blush begin to glow on her own face. No one had ever said that to her before.

She took her hand away from her face, a smile tugging at her mouth. She looked up at Gaara, her eyes glazed over slightly, and she smiled.

"I like you too, Gaara-kun!" she suddenly yelled, throwing her arms around Gaara and wrapping him into a hug, "I'm so happy I have a best friend!"

Petrified, Gaara gasped and tipped back. Suddenly, he let himself fall onto the sand covered ground with a yell and a loud scream from Kira. When he opened his eyes painfully, he saw Kira hovering over him, her wide eyes somewhat frightened. He was about to apologize for making her fall, until she burst out laughing in his face. Surprised, Gaara could only listen to her laugh, but soon, he found himself laughing with her. Together, they lay on the ground next to each other, laughing until they had tears in their eyes.

"Gaara-kun, will I ever see you again?" Kira asked, standing at the doorway to the Kazekage's office. The sun had reached the end of the horizon, and the sky had melted into the colors of gold and red. The two had been playing outside for hours, unaware of the time.

"I'm not sure," Gaara muttered, shifting his feet on the ground, "I don't want you to leave, Kira-chan. I want to keep playing. I had so much fun today; I want you to stay."

"I want to stay too," Kira said sadly, her ears slightly limp, "I'll miss you, Gaara." Gaara felt as though someone was squeezing his heart with a tight fist. He winced, holding onto his chest.

"What's wrong, Gaara-kun?" Kira asked worriedly, looking at her friend.

"…It hurts," Gaara said softly, looking at his chest, "Right here…It's never done that before…" Kira cocked her head at her friend.

"…Here," Kira said, putting her hand into her pocket. Gaara watched as she pulled out one of the sakura petals. She took Gaara's hand and placed it in the palm of his hand, closing his fingers around it.

"Keep this, Gaara-kun," Kira smiled at the boy, "To remember me by." Gaara looked down at the pink petal with wide eyes. He turned his eyes up to the cat girl and smiled broadly.

"Thank you, Kira-chan," he said softly. He looked up to see that his new friend had tears welling up in her big eyes.

"G-Gaara," she sniffed, wiping her eyes, "I don't want you to go. I've n-never had a friend before." Gaara watched his new friend start to cry, and his expression changed.

"Stop crying," he suddenly said. Kira looked at him with wide eyes, her ears going back. Gaara was staring at the ground, his eyes narrowed. They were silent for a while.

"I should give something to you too." Gaara suddenly said seriously, looking around the empty room, scanning for anything. Suddenly, his eyes rested on the teddy bear he had cast aside a while ago. He quickly ran over, grabbed it, and ran back, eagerly handing it over to Kira.

"You take this to remember me by," his smile return, holding out the soft bear. Kira looked at it, shaking her head.

"Gaara-kun, that's yours," she frowned, looking at the boy, "You keep it." Gaara shook his head.

"I want you to have it," he smiled. Kira looked at the bear, then Gaara, before smiling and taking it, holding it to her chest.

"Thank you," Kira smiled, "I'll never forget you, Gaara-kun." She suddenly leaned forward and gave Gaara a soft kiss on the cheek. Gaara's eyes went wide, and a soft blush stained his cheeks. Kira giggled.

"Hey, Gaara, maybe one day we'll get married," she grinned. Gaara's eyes went even wider and the blush increased.

"W-what?" he stuttered helplessly. Kira suddenly wrinkled her nose and smile with her small fangs.

"Hee, just kidding," she grinned. Gaara looked at her helplessly and couldn't help but smile back.

"I'll never forget you either, Kira-chan," Gaara said softly as she and her parents made their way down the dusty path way. As both children watch their friend drift away from them, both of them heard their parents say to them, "Don't worry; you'll see each other again some day."

"…And that day still hasn't come yet," Kira mumbled, letting the petal fly away from her hands. She watched it with blank eyes as it drifted away from here, flying off to an unknown place. Kakashi was intrigued by the story, but was also wondering why Kira had this unusually solemn expression on her face.

"You're very good at guiding wind with your hands," Kakashi attempted to break the silence by smiling, picking the petals off of his shirt. Kira turned to her sensei, and a smile emerged on her face, bringing a soft laugh. A thought suddenly entered Kakashi's mind. It made his relaxation come to a halt as he sat up more, taking the book that rested on his lap and brushing the pink petals off of its pages before closing it. He had remembered what Hisakata had said, and it made his peaceful afternoon come to an end. The Chunin exams would be in only two months. Would it be enough time?

"Kira?" he suddenly asked.

"Uh-huh?" Kira asked, flopping down on the ground next to him and lying on her stomach, her head resting in her hands as she looked up at him. Kakashi took a breath before saying, "The Wind leader wants me to select you for the Chunin exams," Kakashi said down to her, "You know what they are, right?" Kira bolted up right.

"Yeah! Sure I do!" Kira nodded her head vigorously, "Yeah, yeah! The Chunin exams where everybody does four tasks and fight each other so that they become Chunin! Am I gonna go? Am I gonna be a Chunin?" Kakashi watched as Kira stared back at him with bright eyes, her mouth open into a gaping grin with her small white fangs showing, her tail wagging and her ears pointed. Kakashi nodded.

"I'm going to select you to compete for the Chunin exams in two months," Kakashi nodded happily, "What do you think of that?"

Kira suddenly jumped off and took off towards the meadow, running at a speed in which only a blur could be seen of her as she cheered the words, "Yeah! Yay! Yeah! Chunin! I'm gonna be a Chunin! Chunin, Chunin, Chunin! Yay!"

Kakashi watched as his student kept running in circles, laughing and cheering. The same aching feeling he had before came back and gripped him tightly. He rested himself back against the cool rock and sighed. He decided to drink in the rest of the afternoon. He'd like to keep this memory and look back on it one day.

She was growing up all too fast for him.


	8. Chapter 8

"You scared?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh-uh," Kira shook her head. They stared up at the building, reading the large printed letters on the sign that read "Neko Ninja Academy". They had trekked from Uindo to the village Kaze to take the Neko Chunin Exams, and although the village was mostly empty due to the exams taking place, Kira was already wagging her tail furiously, hoping to see at least one other Neko. She looked up at the building with Kakashi, her eyes wide, her ears back slightly.

"Are you ready?" Kakashi asked opening the door. Kira looked up at him with eager yes, her expression different now.

"Yeah, let's go!" she grinned.

Although it had been only two months of training, Kakashi was now assured and confident as everyone else was that she was ready. The only thing he stalled him slightly was the four unknown tasks that lay ahead. He didn't know at all what they would be; he only knew that a few of them were designed especially for Nekos, and that not even some elite Jonin could accomplish them. But when he saw the regular determined look in his students eyes and her fanged grin, he smiled as well, pushing open the door.

They were greeted with a dark and empty battle room. The room was completely empty and dim, with balconies for spectators to watch battles and a few tapestries portraying the names of past Kazekages. It was silent for a while as the two surveyed the room, until Kira saw a door at the end of the room, illuminated with light from the outside.

"Come on," Kakashi said, taking a step forward, his voice echoing slightly in the spacious room, "You'll be back in this room very soon."

"Did you hear that?" Kira asked, turning her head to the left, her ears swiveling in different directions. Kakashi looked down at her, slightly confused. He hadn't heard a thing, but then again, his young student's hearing was thousands of times better than his.

"What did you hear?" he asked, looking around.

"It sounded like…," Kira's ears pricked up, "I think someone's here."

"_And I thought I was being so quiet!_"

Kira must have shot up five feet in the air, because Kakashi watched with shock as she fell to the ground on all fours, quickly getting up and running behind him clutching onto his ninja vest from behind with a loud yelp. Kakashi's senses quickly came back as the loud voice continued to laugh much too loudly for Kakashi's taste. Kakashi quickly turned to the man who had appeared behind them. He narrowed his eyes at the familiar bowl hair cut and freakishly large eye brows.

"Apparently not," Kakashi said quietly as the man continued to laugh obnoxiously, "And what, dare I ask, are you doing here, Guy?"

"That's _Might Guy _to you, Hatake!" Guy grinned, giving a thumbs up sign which he practically shoved into the serene Shinobi's face, "And I'm here to see the Neko exams!"

Kakashi mentally groaned. This guy was the last thing he needed right now.

"Uh, you have a Neko student?" Kakashi asked blankly as his own still cowered behind him, terrified of this new stranger.

"No! Not at all!" Guy laughed loudly, "Though I wouldn't mind one! People come here from all over the land to watch these matches! They're legendary! Of course, I can understand that you, Kakashi, of all people would be misinformed." Kakashi could have chosen a few choice words to mutter at Guy, but he didn't want to make a bad impression in front of his student, who now had made an attempt to peek out from Kakashi's back to observe the new stranger.

"And speaking of which," Guy tried to peer behind Kakashi's back, "Who's this cute little konuchi?" Kakashi sighed as he stepped aside and gently pushed Kyra forward.

"This is…my student," Kakashi said, laying a hand on her shoulder as Kira peered up at the man with big eyes, "Kyra Koneko."

"_Great Hokage!_" Guy suddenly exclaimed, causing the Neko girl's tail to poof out, "You mean the Kaze Koneko!? Good lord, I can't believe it's really her!" He extended a hand, a huge grin on his face as he stared down at Kira, "Konoha's Noble Blue Beast, Might Guy!"

"I think you're scaring her," Kakashi said, gently bringing Kira back towards him, fearing that Guy was traumatizing his student.

"Blue?" Kira squeaked, her ears folded back.

"Oh! By the way!" Guy announced loudly, his voice bouncing off the walls of the empty room, "I have someone for her to meet!"

"Oh, great," Kakashi mumbled.

"_Lee, get over here!_" Guy shouted across the room, Kira covering her ears. The light illuminated door at the end of the room burst open and a black blur ran in. It quickly landed at Guy's feet, and Kakashi immediately recognized the familiar face. It was as if Guy's student was an aging mirror of his teacher.

"Here, sir!" the small ninja yelled, raising his hand in salute.

"At ease, Lee," Guy smiled down at his student, "Look, Lee, you have a new playmate."

Kakashi's only thought was, _Oh god, no._

The black jump-suit ninja looked over to the small cat girl shaking slightly in front of her teacher, and his eyes lit up.

"Well, hello there!" he grinned, taking big strides over to her, "What's your name?"

"K-Kira," Kira said quietly, holding her hands in front of her mouth as Kakashi rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, Kira," Lee grinned, leaning forward and giving a broad wink, "You are the _prettiest _girl I've ever seen! I'm gonna make sure you don't get hurt during the Chunin exams! I'll protect you with my life!"

_Okay, this is getting a little weird, _Kakashi thought as his student suddenly yelled, "Kakashi sensei!" as she came running behind his back.

"You're darling, kitten!" Lee sang, giving another broad wink as Kira chirped in surprise, ducking behind Kakashi.

"Come on, Lee!" Guy announced, "They will be plenty of time for love later!"

"Thank you, Master Guy!" Lee turned to him, "You are the best teacher in the world!"

"Lee, you are such a great kid!" Guy smiled warmly as he and his student embraced in a quick but passionate hug, much to Kakashi's disgust, "Now, _let's go!_" In flash as quickly as lightning, the two sprinted out of the room at an unknown speed.

The Jonin and Neko were left in the room alone, watching the door of which the two exited. There was a silence as they both stared in almost disbelief. Kira spoke.

"Those guys…are weird," she wrinkled her nose. Kakashi sighed.

"Just ignore them," he said, leading her to the door, "Come on, whatever encounters you have during the Chunin exams can't be as scary as those two."

"Thank goodness," Kira sighed in utter relief.


	9. Chapter 9

Kakashi walked down the hallway with his student. It looked like any normal school, but Kakashi knew very well that it wasn't. Kira was in somewhat of a daze, her ears swiveling in different directions and her nose twitching. She was smelling other cats; a smell that she had never experienced before. She felt the fur on her tail bristle as they came closer to the room, their footsteps echoing in the hallway.

"You ready?" Kakashi asked, reaching for the door. Kira looked up at him and suddenly huffed loudly.

"I told you, I'm ready!" she grinned. Kakashi looked at her for a second and realized she was right. He reached for the door slot and slid the door open.

Kira's eyes lit up and her ears leaned straight forward. She gave a slight gasp. The room was filled with Neko students everywhere, sitting on desks, scattered about the room, relaxing on window panes. A few shady looking proctors stood in the corners, but did not interfere with the students. While the proctors looked as any normal ninja proctor would (scarred, old, and probably bad tempered) the students were bright and young, most of them Kira's age, some a few years older as they laughed, joked, and talked. Kakashi smiled; this was what she wanted.

But as soon as they entered the room, a quiet hush descended on the room. Eyes landed on Kira, mouths dropped, whispers were tossed around the room.

"Look, it's her."

"The one they were talking about."

"Look at her eyes!"

"It's the Kaze Koneko!"

"Look, her instructor is Kakashi Hatake!"

"I can't believe it's really true. I just can't believe it. It's back."

Kira's ears folded backs lightly as she held her tail in her hands, taking a step back slightly into Kakashi. Kakashi held his aloof attitude, as he was used to the occasional whispers of his name, but Kira was obviously not used to this much attention. It seemed the world had stopped and was looking at her. As if she was their last hope.

"You're Kira!" a voice suddenly chirped. Startled, Kira looked up to see a young cat girl about the same age as her. Her ears were black with tufts of silver sticking out of them as they stuck up in a ruffled mess about her dark hair. Her green cat eyes stared wide at Kira, much like Kira stared at Kakashi.

"H-huh?" Kira asked, putting a hand up to hide her mouth.

"Everyone's talking about you!" the kitten grinned excitedly with her fangs, her tail wagging, "You're the special one, right? The wind one?" Kira looked down, shuffling her feet and nodding softly.

"That's so cool!" the cat girl exclaimed suddenly, making Kyra lift her head in surprise, "I've always wanted to see wind powers! Will you show me some time?" Kira stalled for a bit, but only from surprise.

"Yeah, sure," Kira's eyes lit up as she smiled with her fangs too.

"I'm Akemi," the cat girl grinned, "You wanna come and meet my cell?"

"Mm-hm," Kira nodded happily as Akemi took her hand and led her to a group of other Neko students that were crowded near a desk in the back. Kakashi smiled as he watched Kyra begin to laugh with the other students as the talked excitedly: it made him happy to see her make friends. It just made him happy to see her laugh.

"Alright everyone," a voice suddenly said over the quiet chatter of the students. Kyra looked up to see a tall older looking man staring down at the students through frocks of jet black hair with stern eyes. All Neko students immediately gulped in unison.

"I am Masaru Shishu, the chief examiner of the Chunin Selection Exams. The first part of the exam is about to take place, so please take a seat…in your desks please." The Neko students laughed as they got up from their position on window sills and desk edges and scattered in different directions with their cell to assorted desks. Kira took a seat next to Akemi as they exchanged looks of suspicion.

"Kakashi Hatake?" a voice said next to Kakashi. Kakashi turned to see a younger man next to him, smiling politely. He looked to be a bit younger than Kakashi, with short brown hair and a Wind head band that accompanied his Jonin outfit.

"Yes?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm Atari Houka," the man said, bowing slightly, "I hear your Kira Koneko's instructor?"

"Yes, I am," Kakashi said as the examiner began to recite the instructions of the exam to the students. Kakashi felt himself smile when he said this: it felt good to know that he was her instructor.

"I'm one of the assistant proctors for the Neko exam," Atari explained, "I was actually hoping I could talk to yo for a second about your student?"

"Uh, yeah," Kakashi looked back slightly at kyra who was listening intently to the proctor, then turned back to the assistant proctor. He looked at her one last time, just to make sure that her ears weren't back in anyway and said, "Sure."

As they exited the room, Kakashi could hear the proctors words ring out before he closed the door, "The test is made up of ten points. If you write a correct answer…"

"I'd hate to be that proctor," Kakashi said quietly as he faced Atari.

"How so?" Atari asked inquisitively.

"Those students," Kakashi smiled slightly, nodding towards the classroom door, "They were practically glaring at him, and so young too." The man gave a slight chuckle.

"As expected from Neko students," he smiled, "You know how they rarely give their trust to men. And they can sense the tension coming off from Masaru too. You have to be careful when proctoring these students. I've learnt that over the years."

"I'm actually not as keen as some of these other instructors may be on the whole Neko subject," Kakashi admitted.

"But you knew you were assigned to teach the Kaze Koneko, yes?" Atari asked.

"Yes, but I was more or less thrown into the lion pit, if you will," Kakashi explained.

"Well, it's a very interesting subject," Atari chuckled, "My father was actually married to a Neko woman. In fact, most of the proctors here have affiliations with the Neko clan, including Masaru-san."

"Really?" Kakashi asked.

"What I wanted to talk to you about," Atari said, dropping his voice slightly as a voice on the other side of the wall shouted, "_Begin!_"

"What are your plans for her after she's graduated to Chunin?" Atari asked. Kakashi was momentarily caught off guard. He had no idea what would happen after she became Chunin. He assumed that she would be assigned missions and that he would regretfully go back to Konoha. Something simple like that.

"I, ah, actually have no idea," Kakashi confessed, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, some people here have been talking, including Masaru and Sunagakure," Atari explained, leaning up against the wall next to Kakashi, handing him a piece of paper, "Saying that she should join the Suna ANBU." Kakashi took the piece of paper with slight interest. It was actually a letter sent to the leader of Kaze, asking permission to grant Kira entrance into the Suna ANBU.

"They had to send letters, since if this information leaked, it's be fatal," Atari gave a small smile, "Her mother received one as well, I believe." Kakashi nodded.

I could understand why they would want her," he said seriously, "Considering her skills and status." Atari stalled.

"Well, yes," Atari nodded, "That is true, and it would be a great opportunity—but—there's a problem."

Kira shifted in her seat quietly, reading over the question. The large classroom was silent except for the scratching of pencils and occasional dodge of wind through the window.

_I can't figure out this thing code_, Kira sadly thought to herself, _I didn't learn any of this stuff in the academy. No one knows this stuff, at least not at our age. But if I cheat…_

Kira's stomach churned slightly. So far, no one had been caught and sent out of the classroom. She didn't want to have to be the first one. She looked out of the corner of her eye to the student on her left. She seemed somewhat older, maybe even almost fifteen. Kira's ear swiveled to hear her pencil writing furiously.

_She's older…she definitely knows what she's doing…why is she here? Everyone here must be at least seven or eight._

Suddenly, something clicked in her mind.

_She's a set up. They want us to cheat…they want to…see our abilities._

Kira racked her mind. She glanced at the other students. Most of them were swiveling their ears, picking up different pencil scratches. Kira could understand how easy that would be, but suddenly, an even better thought came to her mind.

She inched a finger towards the student to her left, and cautiously flicked her finger towards her. A hardly noticeable but powerful whisper of wind lifted the edge of the paper, curling it towards Kira. The student merely thought of it as a natural breeze, but little did she know that Kira was now copying all the answers on the visible sheet of paper.

"I see," Kakashi nodded after Atari had finished speaking, "So, what you're saying is that, because of Orochimaru, it would be easier to target her?"

"Yes," Atari nodded with a soft sigh. Kakashi's eyes fell to the floor. He really hadn't even began to think about what would happen to her after the Chunin exams. Now that he was hearing of Orochimaru coming after her, putting her into danger, the same unsettling feeling from before began to creep back into his mind. He let out a stiff sigh, folding his arms and leaning back against the wall.

"…Will she ever be safe?" he asked quietly. Atari looked downward.

"No," he said simply, "That's one of the curses that comes with being the Kaze Koneko. People don't realize it, but the Kaze Koneko is not looked at as a god by Kaze just because of its ninjutsu and genjutsu. They're also a powerful breed, just as powerful as a Jinchuriki." Kakashi inwardly perked up.

"Wouldn't she be happier with a Neko cell, right here in Kaze?" Kakashi asked, turning to the door where his student was now taking the test, "Do you think they would look for her there? The Akatsuki, I mean?"

"Well, there are some Neko proctors here who believe that Kyra should do just that," Atari explained somewhat sadly, "But unfortunately, Kaze isn't the way it used to be. Normally, the Kaze Koneko would live freely here and start training in the Neko Academy after they made Chunin, which would be around the age of six, later ruling the village at the age of even ten years of age. But with Orochimaru's attack and his henchmen everywhere, most people want to find a more secluded place for her to be." Kakashi felt himself nod. But a part of him wanted to tear the paper that this young proctor, no, _assistant _proctor, had given him and say "Don't you think it should be up to her to decide what to do with her life?"

"Well, whose decision is it?" Kakashi asked quietly. Atari sighed slightly.

"Unfortunately, it's pretty complicated in her position. Most Neko students after Chunin exams take on a squad and complete missions with them. With her however," Atari stalled, looking towards the door, "With the Kaze Koneko, they usually become leader of Kaze, but because of times now, I don't think that's possible. It's best to leave it up to the leader of Kaze to decide what to do with her."

These words echoed through Kakashi's head. _What to do with her…_

_Was it really their decision?_

"Times up!' a voice rang in the other room.

Kira dropped her pencil with a clack that accompanied the rest, sighing in relief.

"How'd you do?" Akemi whispered in an inaudible voice to those without Neko ears.

"Pretty good," Kira smiled, "You?"

"Not bad," Akemi smiled.

"We will now ask the last question of the exam," Masaru looked at the students as three or four proctors flanked his sides, all holding clipboards, "This question will determine your outcome on the exam." At once, all ears in the classroom flicked with annoyance, a couple of students giving huffs of annoyance. The fact that the previous questions were a complete waste of their time was annoying yet predictable.

"If any of you get this question wrong," Masaru continued with a smirk, his eyes scanning the classroom of cat girls all staring back at him, "You will be dropped from the program." All students' eyes widened. Kira's ears perked up. How hard could this question be? Was it a riddle? A puzzle? But all stayed silent, not moving a tail or ear; determined not to show any fear. The Chief Examiner, although he had dealt with years and years of training with Nekos, was still marveled at how none of them at such a young age would not show fear. The examiner proctors noticed and gave a smirk to Masaru, giving him permission to continue.

"For those of you who don't want to take the risk," Masaru looked as though he relished the looks of surprise from the students, "Can proceed out of the classroom, and try again next year." There was a short silence, until Masaru asked in a cold voice, "Well? Any takers?"

Kakashi was listening somewhat intently into the next room, with Akira standing next to him.

"They're just kids!" Kakashi said to Atari in disbelief, "How could they put that much pressure on them?" Akira only smiled.

"Nekos are smart," he shrugged slightly, "Did you notice that none of them failed the written test? It's because they're so good at spying. We never worry about sending a Neko student out of the room because we caught her cheating. It's simply unheard of. Plus, even at a young age, they have natural seduction powers. Most of them are so cute we could never get them in trouble." Kakashi smiled slightly to himself. He experienced the same thing when he first met the troublesome kitten. He turned his attention to the door again, waiting to hear the last question. For some reason he felt the same rush of fear and determination that he had felt when he took his Chunin exams. But his exams were nothing like the ones that his student was taking.

"…No one? Not one of you is scared?" All of the students in the room stared back at the proctor, not one students wavering at all. The proctors looked at each other and nodded.

"All right then, since you're all so brave," Masaru almost jeered as she stared at the students through his frocks of dark hair, his gray, stern eyes almost snarling back at the students, "All right, here's the question…"

A hush even greater than before fell over the room as it was plunged into silence. Kira stared back at this man as his eyes briefly landed on her, but Kira didn't even waver. She narrowed her eyes at her, ear ears pointed forward. Now, more than ever, she was ready.

"When I point to you," Masaru said, "Tell me your name."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he had just heard. His Chunin exam wasn't at all like this. How different were these Neko exams?

"What is this?" Kakashi turned to Akira, who smiled knowingly, "Some sort of trick?"

"Don't you remember what they told you before assigning you to your Neko student?" Atari asked. Kakashi searched in his mind for any old memories of when he was first assigned to her, but could not remember any.

"Nekos don't take trust easily," Atari said, "Especially to men."

At once, all eyes in the room narrowed, staring at this suspicious proctor. All the students in the room were band together now, willing to fight with each other. They were not fighting against each other anymore, they were all in this together. There was no way this man would get them to reveal any information about them.

"Starting with you," Masaru pointed to a blonde haired cat girl with blue eyes, "What's your name?" The young Neko girl only narrowed her eyes at him, her tail flicking.

"No?" Masaru asked in an innocent tone, "How about you?" he pointed to the student next to Kira. Suddenly, Kira watched as the student stood up and said, "Maro Bikou."

As she sat down, Akemi shot a questionable glance to Kira, but Kira only shook her head.

"She's a set up," Kira whispered, "Don't trust her."

"Very good," Masaru nodded, turning to a brown haired cat girl with black ears, "What about you? What's your name?" The girl only crossed her arms, leaning back slightly as she narrowed her eyes.

"Not you, either?" he asked, "What about you?" He pointed to another. This young girl, about fifteen, stood up and said clearly, "I am Hina Kibou."

"Well done," Masaru nodded. A couple students turned questionably, cocking their heads at this out of character gesture, but none of them seemed that phased.

"How about," Masaru's finger scanned the room. Kira watched the finger like a kitten would watch a moving piece of string. She felt herself lick her fangs in anticipation. Suddenly, as expected, Masaru's finger stopped on her.

"You," he said deliberately, "What's your name?"

Kira narrowed her eyes, one of her ears flicking in somewhat annoyance. Suddenly, she closed her eyes, stuck her tongue out and spat at the Chief Examiner. A chorus of laughs erupted in the classroom from the students as the proctors smirked appreciatively.

"Well, there's a Neko if I ever saw one," one proctor remarked to another as Kira grinned at him, her fangs showing. Masaru smirked.

"Very well then," he said, facing the entire classroom, "I'm adding a new rule. If any one of you are willing to say your name, please stand up and say it now. If you don't, you will fail the exam."

Any normal student would immediately give their name, but every single one of those Neko students knew one thing. One: they could not fail all of them; they couldn't take an exam with only two participants. And two: they already knew the trick. They knew that none of them would fail.

Every single proctor waited in the room expectantly, as tails swished in anticipation, eyes still locked curiously on the proctors. Masaru stared back at the all the large eyes, watching them. He knew he was done. The exam was over.

"Fine," Masaru growled, taking a step forward, "If all of you are so stubborn and can't take my trust," he glared back at the students who had banned together against him, a handful of the last Nekos in the world, and said, "Then I have to say that…you all pass."


	10. Chapter 10

"That's it," Atari shrugged satisfactorily, "The end of the first exam."

"It was pretty interesting," Kakashi remarked, "Very different from my Chunin exams."

"Well, when you think about the other tasks, it's pretty easy," Atari smiled, "Anyway, after the exams, Masaru-san and the leader of Kaze wanted to talk to you about Kira's arrangements after the Chunin exams. It's very important that her squad is assigned to her as soon as possible so she isn't at risk being targeted by any unwanted clans."

The Sound ninja that Kakashi had encountered flashed back in his mind. Kakashi couldn't let that happen again. Although he didn't agree with all these arrangements, he wanted what was best for her. She wasn't just a normal student that any teacher could have. She was special.

"Well, on to the second exam," Atari sighed satisfactorily, "It takes place in the forest about a mile from here. If you don't mind, Masaru-san requested your presence. I believe he wants to talk about your young student."

"Sure thing," Kakashi shrugged serenely, following the proctor out the doors down the hall, "So, I'm guessing this exam that takes place in the forest compares to the one in the standard Chunin exams, right?"

Atari laughed. "Not quite."

Kakashi looked at the other senseis. All were here, their students standing in front of them. Each had a three man (or cat) cell, so the Konoha native was relieved to see that Kaze wasn't completely upside down. But he still found it somewhat odd that the teachers accompanied their students to the second task. Usually, by now he would be conversing with other Jonin somewhere, ready to appear when the third task was announced, but decided to not ask questions and let the answers come to him.

They were standing in front of a large forest, not unlike the Forest of Death in Konoha. Although the weather had been somewhat nice when they came, the sky had now become a misty white, with a lazy but heavy fog curling around their legs. The forest certainly was rather frightening looking, with it's dark trees and vines hanging down, but it made Kakashi smile with pride to know that his student that he had vigorously been training with over the last two months was finally ready to do the same challenge he took all those years ago.

The cat girls were all line up with their senseis, all whispering excitedly so softly that the sensei's couldn't hear them. A young cat girl with small white ears was whispering to Kira, but Kakashi only saw his students lips move with out sound, her ears swiveling toward her new friend. Kakashi watched with interest as Kira and her friend suddenly laugh quietly together, before the same cold voice he had been listening to on the other side of the door filled the misty air.

"So, it seems we have a big class this year," Masaru smirked coldly to them. All students tensed immediately, making the surroundings seem even colder as everyone became silent. Kakashi got a good look at the proctor. His dark eyes hidden beneath his lengthy coal black hair was somewhat unsettling. He looked to be about forty; and from the large scar that traced his neck, he looked to have been in a number of battles. _It seemed odd that a teacher like these would be teaching a bunch of cute kids like these_, Kakashi wondered, _But then again, I keep hearing about how powerful these kittens are, so I guess I should be on guard as well._

"I think you'll find that the next task will be much harder," Masaru smirked. His eyes landed on Kira and he stared deliberately at her. Kira stared back, not wavering at all. Kakashi could almost feel the cold stare coming from Masaru to his student. He knew that he could tell just by her eyes that she was the one.

"This next task, will not in anyway, challenge your life," Masaru continued as a cold wind brushed past them as stealthy as a ghost, "So, you needn't worry about losing your lives." There was a slight murmur of dispersed sighs of relief, mostly from senseis, until Masaru said in an even colder voice, "Unless, of course, you die from blood loss."

The students didn't so much waver in fright as stare back in curiousness. Kakashi was slightly unnerved, so he was somewhat surprised at the students' serene attitude.

"You will be given these to put on," Masaru explained as he made his way to a small wooden stand, set up by the chain-link fence that surrounded the forest. There were about fifteen collars, once for each student, places on the stand. They looked like simple dog collars, or in this case, cat collars. Masaru picked one up and revealed a tiny silver bell attacked to it. Immediately, all cat ears in the vicinity pricked up at the sound of the jingling bell. The Sensei's smiled in amusement as their once glaring eyes at the suspicious Masaru seemed to brighten as they all wagged their tails slightly. Even for a teacher who had dealt with a Neko before, it seemed that Nekos were an endless source of entertaining surprises.

"When you enter that forest," Masaru motioned to the dark forest behind him, "You will have one night to make it to the checkpoint; a stone tower in the middle. You have until sun up to get to the tower, or you will be disqualified. And about the bells," he flicked one, causing it to ping loudly to the ears of the Nekos, and smirked, "If you make one sound with these bells, one sound at all, our hidden Jonin will not hesitate to shoot you with their crossbows."

Kakashi felt himself inwardly gasp. Was he serious? A task like that? Not only could most Jonin that he knew not complete this task, but asking seven through ten year old kids to complete this? It was insanity!

But the students didn't dare speak.

No one wanted to speak against the Examiner. They had no trust in him at all, and that being said, they did not want to speak to him at all. It was the natural instinct of a Neko.

_So, these guys want us to go out in the dead of night with these noisy bells and not make a sound? And if we make a sound, we get shot!? This is…scary…, _Kira felt a shiver go up her tail, causing it to puff out slightly, along with the other tails.

"And so," Masaru continued, "If you do make it back, you are only allowed to have a certain number of arrows in you. If we count more than three, than you're out."

Kakashi wanted to scream, "How could you do this to kids!? It's a wonder they'll even make it out alive with all those arrows in them! There has to be a law against this, or something! This can't be real!" But the teachers around him must have been through this before, because most of them stared blankly, waiting for the speech to be over. Kakashi felt like the odd one out at the moment, as if a secret was being kept from him, but he didn't at the moment. This was his student's life at stake.

"That being said," Masaru turned directly to the students, lowering his frame slightly to look down on the small students, who looked back at him somewhat wide-eyed, "This task…you will fight no foes, monsters, or use any weapons of any kind. This is a test of your stealth skills. The Nekos are known as some of the most silent and stealthiest ninja, but they are also known as the fastest Ninja. A Neko needs to be at top speed and not make a sound. It's not just your career on the line, it's your life."

The students each took a black leather collar and buckled it around their necks. Soon all students were lined up, waiting to enter the forest.

"Kira," Kakashi said quietly before Kira got ready to stand in line. Kira's ear swiveled behind her and she turned to Kakashi.

"Yeah?" she smiled slightly. Kakashi knelt down before her so that he was on the same level with her. Kira looked at Kakashi's face in a confused manner. She had never seen her teacher look so nervous. He laid a shaky hand on her shoulder.

"Kira, if you…feel like you can't go on, and you're too hurt," Kakashi said quietly, "I…want you to run. It's not worth it. You could do greater things than this."

Kira cocked her head slightly, her eyebrows raised. Suddenly, she laughed.

"Hah, no way," she grinned at up her sensei, her ears pointed ambitiously, "Sure I'm scared, but that just shows that I'm smart, and that doesn't mean I'm gonna run!" She pointed a stern finger at Kakashi, "I'm gonna take this challenge because I'm just as good as everyone else here!" Kakashi was not surprised, but he was still glad. He gave her a reassuring pat on the head and walked off, smiling to himself. He didn't have to be nervous, but for some reason, he was.

They were focusing their chakra in their feet, ready to leap at the slightest noise. Ears were pointed forward, tails bristled. Kakashi watched as Kira flicked the bell on her collar, a new type of determined look in her red eyes. Kakashi let go a shaky sigh as they prepared to enter. He just hoped that he had taught her enough.

"Hey."

Kira turned to Akemi, her shining green eyes smiling at her.

"Let's do this together," Akemi smiled.

Kira smiled back at her, her fangs gleaming. "Yeah, lets." They stood together, heads lowered, ready to go. If Kira listened closely, she could hear the pounding hearts of her opponents, beating like drums in the dead silence. She was ready.

"GO!" Masaru barked loudly.

The gates were thrust open with a loud clang. Almost before they even opened, the students sprang as quickly as lightening, flinging themselves into a forest as fast as arrows. In an instant, they were gone. Hardly a sound made, save for a few snapping twigs. Kakashi stared in amazement. Not one made a sound.

_These kids…are something else, _Kakashi thought to himself in amazement.

"I always found this part more interesting," a voice chuckled. Kakashi turned to see a young ninja walk his way, "You're the one with the Kaze Koneko, right?"

"Yeah," Kakashi said after a second, shaking off the anxiety that he had felt earlier.

"Masaru Shishu," the man smile, looking friendlier than he had before, "I understand you teach the Kaze Koneko." Kakashi felt his eyes narrow slightly. She had a name, after all.

"Yes, that would be Kira Koneko," Kakashi said somewhat slowly. Masaru gave a chuckle.

"I was so surprised when I was told that it was back," he explained, "We haven't had one compete in these exams for over two hundred years. I had forgotten how long it's been, but this is my first time proctoring one, and the same goes for ever other proctor here."

"I was interested in about how these whole Neko Chunin Exams were run," Kakashi returned the smile. The man was a lot friendlier now that he wasn't around the students. He wondered what tricks he was pulling right now.

"Let's talk in my office," Masaru said as the other teachers and proctors began to walk back to the office as well, "We have a lot to talk about."


	11. Chapter 11

"We need to explain how things in the Neko world work," Masaru said while leaning back slightly. Kakashi looked around at the large table, surrounded by about a dozen people he didn't know, but they looked to be all Jonin proctors. Kakashi was slightly up fronted by the Shinobi that were in the room, who all seemed to be slightly cold, but he had no idea how serious the subject of the matter was.

"Explain away," Kakashi said serenely.

"The Chunin exams are made up of three grueling tasks," Masaru explained while resting his folded hands in front of his face, "The second one is taking place as we speak, and the last one is a battle, much like your Chunin exams, only one task short. Usually after a Genin makes Chunin, they under go the average Chunin lifestyle. For your student…," Masaru looked at the arranged proctors who stared back grimly. Kakashi was slightly confused. Had he done something wrong?

"…Is there something wrong with Kira?" Kakashi asked calmly, though his tone of voice didn't effect what he was feeling right now. Masaru sighed.

"Kira was brought up in a different world than this," Masaru shook his head, "She didn't have the proper teachings in the Neko Academy here in Kaze. Obviously, that isn't her fault, but it does impact her life greatly. There are certain things at the Neko Academy that you cannot teach them. For instance, a regular Neko student would start at the Academy when they were seven and stay until the age of nine, when they would enter the Chunin exams a year or two later. However, for you student, she was supposed to receive special training until Chunin exams at the age of five. Tell me, why didn't this happen sooner?" Masaru sounded somewhat aggravated at this news. Kakashi felt his tone change as he explained in a controlled voice, "No one knew who she was until about nine months ago. She needed a skilled Jonin to teach her high enough skills so that she would be at the appropriate level she needed to be at in her case."

"What skills did you teach her?" a proctor asked, staring at Kakashi through his shockingly blonde hair and intense blue eyes.

"Enough so that she would qualify to be Jonin," Kakashi said.

"Even if it is enough, she doesn't have the Neko attacks that she needs to be taught," Masaru explained, "There are bite techniques, claw techniques, stealth and climbing skills, special undercover maneuvers, and many other things that the average Shinobi have never heard of, and she hadn't learned any of them."

"…Is that so?" Kakashi lifted his head in surprise. No one had ever told him this.

"If I may step in, Masaru-san," a voice said. Kakashi turned to see Atari shuffling a pile of papers on the table, "But it says here that she has learned the basic wind techniques, such as Dai-Kamaitachi no Jutsu, Cyclone Scythe Technique, and Kirikiri-Mai, Blade dance." Masaru looked at Kakashi.

"Is this true?" he asked softly.

Kakashi smirked.

"I taught her much more than that. Look at the file." Atari, slightly surprised, scanned the paper. As his eyes moved down the paper, he looked up with wide eyes.

"You taught her that?" he asked in a shocked voice.

"Yep," Kakashi shrugged proudly, "It took a few tries, since she's so young, but she actually got it pretty quick for someone her age. In fact, she's almost mastered it as good as me." The proctors stared at the piece of paper and looked towards the Chief Examiner, waiting for an answer. Masaru looked at Kakashi.

"That may be the case," Masaru said, "But although she has learned some out of text attacks and some useful defenses, she needs to learn the Neko techniques. Without them, she can't function." The room was silent as Masaru sighed. Kakashi looked past him to where there was a giant window. Through the window, he could see the sky darkening as night approached. The trees had become dark shadows; not even a breeze disturbing a single leaf. Kakashi stared off at the trees.

"It's getting late," Masaru suddenly said quietly, noticing Kakashi's stare as he turned to him. Kakashi thought about Kira and where she might be at the moment. He winced when he thought about the hidden Jonin, and how many arrows wounds she would emerge with.

"How much do you want to bet that she comes back with out a scratch?" Masaru remarked coldly to his companions. Kakashi didn't remark. He only hoped that she was all right.

As night fell, Kira sniffed the air quietly. There was no rain coming; no distractions. She just had to make it to that tower. Slowly, she slunk her body across a particularly large tree branch. It was darker now, but with her eyes, she could see everything. Night birds squawked loudly, bugs hummed in the air, and frogs in a nearby bog croaked. The sounds were somewhat distracting, but Kira only flicked her ears and held her breath.

"I have to concentrate," she whispered to herself quietly, "One slip up and I'll be regretting it." The silver bell dangled below her, threatening to chime at the slightest movement, but with the way that Kira slunk, her body almost touching the bark as she most swiftly and silently, the bell only twitched.

Suddenly, a soft chime of a bell rang out somewhere. Kyra gasped as she heard the hissing of an arrow and the muffled cry of one of her teammates. There was a crashing of branches as she could hear her tumble through the leaves, falling on the ground. Kira winced, releasing her breath. She felt herself quake in fear as she tried to take another step forward.

"Hey, you okay?" a soft voice said. Kira turned to see Akemi's green eyes smiling at her.

"Yeah," Kyra nodded, wiping a bit of dirt off of her face, "Come on, we don't have time to waste."

"You got that right," Akemi whispered, taking a step forward from her crouching position. The air was actually somewhat humid, making the trip even more unbearable. Kyra licked her dry mouth, hoping to get there soon so she could get a drink of water. The bark was also somewhat soggy from a previous rainfall, making it slippery.

"Just concentrate on not moving your front as much," Kira whispered as she crawled further, "If you do, you might shake the bell."

Just as Kira finished her sentence, she heard Akemi's foot sleep off of the wet tree branch, the bell ringing out in protest.

"Akemi!" Kira whispered in fear as Akemi struggled to gain balance. In an instant, an arrow shot through the air and stung into Akemi's thigh. Akemi yelp, wincing in pain and holding the arrow.

"Akemi!" Kira whispered as quietly as she could, slinking over to her friend.

"Go," Akemi whispered, tears pouring from her eyes, "Go, I can handle this. You need to get to that tower."

"I'm not leaving," Kira whispered shakily, staring at the arrow in Akemi's thigh as it trickled blood, "I won't leave a comrade."

"Don't you realize what will happen if you don't make it?" Akemi suddenly hissed, her ears folded back, "Don't you know who you are?"

Kira felt her eyes close tight. She knew who she was. With each passing day so far, with each person that she met, bowing to her greatness and staring at her, she had grown to hate the person people wanted her to be. She didn't want to be the Kaze Koneko. She wanted to be Kira.

Kira suddenly grabbed Akemi's arm, her red eyes boring into Akemi's green ones, "You have no idea you I am," she whispered, "And I am helping you." Akemi shivered slightly at the glint in Kira's eyes, and the unusual domination in Kira's tone, but only blinked back tears and nodded.

"So, what do you suggest we do?"

Kakashi waited for Masaru's answer. He only stared at the papers in front of him quietly. The room was silent as the proctors awaited Masaru's orders.

"This girl," Masaru said quietly, picking up a file laid out before him, "She's remarkable. These attacks you taught her will help her, there's no doubt about that. But she needs to be with her own kind. Neko are already powerful enough, but to give them exceptional wind powers," Masaru shook his head, "Makes her the ultimate weapon." Kakashi stared back in slight surprise. He had no idea his student was called an "ultimate weapon". Masaru sighed heavily, his cold eyes meeting Kakashi's.

"After the exam, we were planning on giving her over to the leader of Kaze for special training, until she is ten. Then we will her to the Neko academy for the standard three years, where she will then be qualified to graduate to Jonin. Then she will spend a year at the Geisha school."

"Geisha school?" Kakashi asked.

"Neko society highly praises the use of seduction technique, so a year there is vital," Masaru explained, "At the age of fourteen, she can officially begin her missions with a Jonin cell, or, quite possibly, the Suna ANBU. I'm sure you've seen the letter of request they sent us." The table of proctors nodded silently. Kakashi waited for Masaru to finish the sentence, but Masaru only nodded as well.

"Excuse me," Kakashi suddenly said, "But, I will get to oversee her, right?"

Masaru turned to Kakashi.

"I'm afraid that's out of the question," Masaru said. Kakashi stared in shock.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked in surprise, "I am, after all, her only trainer. You can't expect her to suddenly start trusting a new one."

"She'll have to," Masaru said coldly, "We thank you for all you have done, but if we knew that the Kazekage was giving her a trainer that didn't teach the Neko ways, than we would have reconsidered your position." Kakashi felt his eyes narrow as she stared around the table of blank faces.

"Reconsider?" Kakashi asked quietly, equally as coldly, "I was assigned this prestigious student because of my ranking. Are you saying I'm not qualified?"

"Actually, yes, we are," Masaru said plainly. Kakashi looked towards Akira, who only nodded apologetically. Suddenly, Kakashi stood up.

"This is insanity!" Kakashi suddenly yelled, "You expect her to just forget about me? We're a team! I can't just let her go off with some stranger to teach her!"

"_Stand down, Kakashi!_" Masaru barked loudly, standing up as well. Kakashi glared back at Masaru. The room fell silent as proctors watched in amazement.

"She is not your student anymore," Masaru growled, his dark eyes glaring back at Kakashi's, "This kid doesn't stand a chance with you in her future. As Chief Examiner, and by orders of the leader of Kaze and the Kazekage, you have been ordered to go back to Konoha by the time the Chunin exams are over." Kakashi felt his hands grip the table, turning his knuckles white as Masaru suddenly snarled, "You can't hold onto her anymore. She won't survive with you."

Kakashi wanted to scream back at him that it was none of their business, that she had the right to choose what she should do with her life. But there was no denying it. Kira didn't need him anymore. She needed to be with her own kind, to learn the Neko ways.

He couldn't hold onto her forever. She would be better off with out him.

"Okay, I get it," Kakashi said quietly, "I'll leave after the Chunin exams."

"Thank you," Masaru said quietly, "We want to thank you for all you have taught her." Kakashi was silent, staring down quietly. The proctors stared questionably at the Jonin, until Kakashi said quietly, "It… was an honor to teach her. Please tell her that."

"We will," Masaru said quietly, looking out the window, "And if I'm not mistaken, the sun's about to rise. We better get to the front of the gate. There were Jonin at the tower who escorted them back to the front gate." Masaru looked at Kakashi, a slight smirk on his face.

"You might as well come; it would be a good chance to see how our Kaze Koneko did." Kakashi stayed silent and only nodded, following the proctors out the door.

"Yes," he said quietly, "Our."


	12. Chapter 12

The golden colors of morning were just beginning to flow back to the sky as the world awoke from its sleep. At the gate, the Neko students were all lined up in front of a medical healer, waiting to be examined. Kakashi stared in amazement. It wasn't a pretty sight. They were tired, hungry and wounded. All of them were marked with scratches, cuts, their faces marked in dirt. But the thing that made Kakashi wince was to see the arrows sticking out of them.

_What happened in there? _Kakashi thought to himself as the children stood in line, wavering slightly from the pain. All of them had at least one arrow in them, sticking out of their leg or arm. They were all whimpering slightly in pain, too tired to talk to one another. Kakashi saw the Neko that Kira was talking to earlier, being examined by the healer.

"Two arrows," the healer said to a proctor behind her. The proctor nodded and wrote it down on a clipboard. Kakashi still couldn't believe what was happening. This was a Neko exam?

He tried to look for Kira in the line, but there was no sight of her. He began to get worried. Had she not made it at all? Was she lost somewhere? He watched as one Neko was pulled to the side by a proctor. She had four arrows in her, exceeding the amount required to pass to the next exam.

As the line soon thinned out, and they were down to the last student, proctors began gathering over, eager to see the last student. Kakashi walked over, knowing that it was Kira. The crowd suddenly gasped, exclaiming in shock. The children looked quietly; too exhausted and hurt to say anything.

"I can't believe it," one proctor said in awe, "No one's had a score like that in a hundred years." Kakashi pushed through the crowd to see none other than his student, being observed by the healer, who was also in shock.

Kira didn't have a single arrow in her.

"That's amazing," another proctor remarked, "She really is the Kaze Koneko." Kira watched the crowds around her in confusion. Kakashi could sense how confused she was: All these people staring at her, marveling at her inhuman stealth. It was almost impossible for anyone, let alone a regular human, to pass the test with a single arrow.

"All right," Masaru's commanding voice suddenly boomed over the amazed murmurs as he stepped forward, facing the line of Nekos, "To those that I'm not speaking to, you have obviously failed. Go to the medic, unless you like having those arrows in you, but other than that, you are free to go. Try again next year." The group of failed participants left with their teachers, going to the medical building near by, a sense of rejection and loss of pride with them. Kira watched them leave, feeling remorse. A lot of those that just left she had already been friends with. But she was glad to have Akemi by her side.

Masaru turned to the awaiting participants.

"To those of you here, I congratulate you," he smirked, "Not many human ninja can accomplish what you did today. This shows that you are ready to proceed to the final task," his eyes landed on Kira. She looked up at him with her dirt ridden and scratched face and only glared back, wiping her eyes. Masaru smirked down at her.

"Well, if you'll all follow me, we can proceed to the fighting arena," he said in his snake like voice. The proctors followed, the Nekos hesitatingly following also as they walked along the dirt path that lead back to the building, where the last task would be held. While walking, the remaining participants stared at Kira. The arrows that were in them had already come out, given that they were not very strong, but could still hold a lot of damage. They almost glared at Kira, when they realized that she had not a single mark from an arrow on her.

"What is she?" someone whispered as they made their way to the battle area. Kira's ears fell slightly limp. If she had had her way, if she knew this was going to happen, she would have purposely made noise so that she would be shot with an arrow.

"Great job," Akemi whispered, limping slightly by the pain in her leg, "You're really something." Kira was silent, but smiled at Akemi.

"You too," she whispered.

"Hey there."

Kira looked up to see Kakashi walking beside her. Her mouth fell open and she gaped up at him, grinning, he eyes shimmering in the morning light. Kakashi smiled down at the face he had learnt to love so much over the past few months. He was so relieved to see that she was okay.

"Kakashi sensei!" Kira smiled wearily up at him as he patted her head, "How'd I do?"

"Great," Kakashi smiled down at her, "You broke the record. They said the last person to accomplish a score like that was the last Kaze Koneko." Kira looked downward.

"Yeah, I guess," Kira sighed. Kakashi looked questionably at her. It puzzled him to see that she had asked him how she did, even though countless people were telling her that she passed with flying colors.

"…Kira," Kakashi suddenly leaned down and said quietly, "Don't let those people get you down. You did great. Just because you're called the Kaze Koneko doesn't mean you have to live up to their standards. You know that, right?" Kira looked up at her teacher with surprised. To his surprise, she merely gave a soft smile.

"No—it's—all right," she smiled, "I'm fine. It's nothing to get worked up over."

She suddenly raced ahead to catch up with Akemi as they made to way to complete the final task. Kakashi watched her. Would she be ready?

He shook his head. Of course she would; she was who she was, she was the Kaze Koneko. But Kakashi still saw her as the little kitten that grabbed the silver bell from him without him knowing. The Kira that outsmarted him beyond belief and still looked up to him like a god. And after what she said, when she felt so out of place by her own identity, his words were all that was needed to cheer her up and bring her back.

Kakashi sighed in despair.

How could they say she didn't need him?


	13. Chapter 13

The battle arena was the room where Kakashi and Kira had entered. It was very similar to where Kakashi had his third task, only this time, it would be the final task. It made Kakashi wonder, _Why three tasks? Obviously the second one was hard enough…How hard will this one be?_

Kakashi stood on the watching balcony, looking at the students. Sure, most of them had punctures from arrows, were dirty and had bloody scratches, but they looked more eager than ever as the prepared to battle against one another. Kakashi watched in amazement.

_They dispatched from their cells at the very beginning. They were on their own from the very start. They could be fighting friends, and yet look how eager they are, at such a young age. These kids…are not even human._

"This next exam will go under the command of another proctor," Masaru suddenly appeared before the students, the usual proctors flanking his side, "During this task, you will be pitted against your rival in battle. The rules are simple: Don't die. If our proctor feels that you cannot go on, than they will declare the winner of the battle. All winning participants may proceed to the Kaze's building, where we will give you your final evaluation."

Right as the Chief Examiner finished his sentence, a loud, prolonged yawn from one of the Chunin participants filled the room, putting all intended conversations to a halt. Everyone stopped in dead silence, turning to the small cat girl in front of the group with red eyes, who wiped her eyes tiredly and turned to attention back to the proctor as if nothing had happened. Kakashi looked down at his sleepy student. As aloof as he was, even he wouldn't pull a stunt like that in front of the entire Chunin staff. Suddenly, Masaru warmly chuckled.

"I should expect such from a Neko," Masaru smirked, walking slowly over to the brown haired cat girl. Kira looked up at him, too tired to narrow her eyes suspiciously as him. Kakashi watched in curiosity: he had never seen his student so tired, let alone tired at all.

_Is this a sign of the apocalypse? And I haven't even finished the latest in the Make-out series…_

Masaru suddenly leaned down in front of Kira, boring his eyes into hers. Kira stared back with wide eyes, contemplating his next move as her fellow participants watched in amazement. Proctors merely watched out of interest: her next move would be vital.

"Are you afraid, my little Kaze Koneko?" he whispered darkly.

This was the first time her title had been uttered during the Chunin exams in front of the other students. They all backed away slightly in a group, their footsteps and shuffling feet echoing in the large room. Kira's ear flattened slightly, noticing how her fellow participants were now separating from her. She was now alone, facing her most prominent opponent yet. This man, to her, was far more intense and threatening than the Sound ninja that had attacked her and Kakashi.

Here, she knew she was being tested.

"Well?" Masaru asked again, his shadow looming over her. He looked down at her red eyes, the red eyes that had been looked up to as a God for centuries and that marked a greatness that no other land had ever seen.

"…What?" Kira's eyes flickered open, her ears perking up, "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

If there was a moment that Kakashi would have stood up and proudly said "That's my student!" he would have complied right then. He was convinced that his attitude had rubbed off on Kira.

Masaru suddenly laughed; not a smirk or chuckle, but a mere laugh. The cat girls all watched with wide eyes as Masaru smiled down at Kira.

"I underestimated you, Kakashi," he said, turning to the Jonin, who was slightly confused, "Maybe you wouldn't make a bad Neko trainer yourself."

…_Okay…Weirdo… _Kakashi shrugged to himself. This guy was getting creepier by the second. But then again, if what he said was true, maybe what he meant was that Nekos are indeed a lot like cats: they won't listen on command.

"Atari Houka," Masaru suddenly said, turning to the proctor, "Get ready for the exam. The third task will start shortly." Atari nodded and walked to the middle of the arena, while people began spanning out in different directions. All the cat girls crowded around the balcony railings, looking down at the arena. Kakashi stood with Kira, feeling the same suspense he felt during the second task. His student looked pretty tired. If the second task used up more than half her energy, how would she handle in the battle?

"Wow!" Kira's ears suddenly perked up, her bright voice returning, "That's the leader of Kaze, Tora Amayah! She's so beautiful!"

"Hm?" Kakashi asked questionably, looking over. His eyes scanned the other side of the room, where an older woman stood, two guards standing by her. Her black pointed ears stuck out neatly combed long black hair, her eyes a fierce purple that could be seen from the other side of the room. Kakashi could see why she was leader of Kaze; not only was she very beautiful, but she looked fierce enough to begin with. She stood rather pensively and quiet, much like older house cats Kakashi had encountered, and stared at the participants. Her eyes grazed over them, checking out the competition this year.

"Hmph," she smirked, "Wonder if the little goddess is here."

"My lady?" the guard turned to her questionably.

"Her," the woman looked at him, "The one; the god; The Kaze Koneko. Surely you didn't forget she was in this exam?"

"I find it hard to believe she's alive at all," the guard muttered in amazement, "After all those centuries, they really thought it had died out."

"That was way before our time," the leader of Kaze smirked, "The only proof we have is tradition and documents. We as people don't know anything about her powers." Her purple eyes finally landed on the one Chunin participant. Her eyes flickered when she saw the legendary red shimmer in her eyes.

"Ah," she smiled, her tail swishing happily, "Very good; she passed the second task; not that I'm surprised." She looked at the little girl; she was leaning over the bars happily, laughing and wagging her tail.

"Lady Tora?" the guard turned to her, "You don't think—she will—kill anyone here, do you?" The woman turned to him.

"No, of course not," she said quietly, "Of course, it all depends on how well she knows her own powers."

"What?" the guard asked, slightly scared.

"If she doesn't know the full extent of her own powers," Tora continued, her eyes becoming serene, "Her physical and mental powers…Then I cannot say what she'll do in the heat of battle." She turned her gaze back to the brunette kitten with the black tipped tan ears, looking at her red eyes.

"Hm, Kyra Koneko," Tora smirked, laying a finger under her own chin in thought, "Well, aren't you interesting?"

"_Well, hello there_!"

Kira gave a high pitched screamed and darted behind Kakashi. Kakashi merely sighed in grief.

"Oh, Guy, forgot about you," Kakashi said quietly, patting Kira's head reassuringly as she held onto his legs for dear life, "Where were you before?"

_Actually, I don't want to know…_

"Lee and I happened to be talking with some very well respected proctors," Guy grinned enthusiastically, patting his own students head as Lee grinned at Kira, who squeaked in surprise, "And what were you doing, Kakashi? Watching from the side lines? I thought a respected Shinobi like you would get a better view of the games."

_Games? _Kakashi wanted to say to him, _You think these are games? This is murder, is what they're doing. How could you watch my student put her life on the line and look at it as a game? You truly are a sick man, Guy._

"I, uh, had some important business to attend to," Kakashi mumbled, suddenly gently taking Kira's arm and pulling her over to Lee, "Kira, go play with Lee, I have to talk to Guy."

"What!?" Kira snapped her had back to stare with side eyes at her insane teacher, "Kakashi…"

"Just go," Kakashi smiled at her weakly as Lee suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her to a corner, grinning back at Kira's wide eyes and saying, "C'mon, Kira, I wanna show you my new technique!"

Once Kakashi saw that she was out of ear shot, which was cutting it pretty close, considering her hearing range, he turned to Guy.

"Trouble?" Guy asked now, abandoning his happy demeanor as he looked at Kakashi with serious eyes, "I noticed you were pretty drained when I saw you leave that building with Masaru." Kakashi sighed and shook his head.

"It's a nightmare, Guy," Kakashi said quietly, "Not for me, but for her. Right after exams their assigning her to a Jonin squad, and when she turns ten their sending her to some Neko Jonin school and then to some fancy Geisha training school…," he shook his head once more, "And then she's off to some Capsule Cell full of hybrids I've never even heard of." Guy shook his head sadly.

"That's not exactly what you had in the cards, is it?" he asked, a faint smile behind his voice. Kakashi looked at him.

"Well, I guess not," Kakashi shrugged wearily, "I always just thought…I never thought…she'd be forcefully taken away from me like that."

"I understand," Guy nodded, "I'd feel like that if someone took Lee away from me to be sent to some school I had no idea about. It's because you practically raised them, and trained them, watching them grow." Kakashi nodded. He did, in a way, feel as though he had raised Kira to become what she was today. But he also knew she had a past; a darker past that he knew nothing about. But it never seemed to faze her, probably because she didn't remember any of it.

"But still," Kakashi said quietly, staring out at the screen on the wall, where the names of the participants would soon be flashing, "To grow up in such a society, to have her become something to great and powerful…I feel…scared for her. What if she ends up living a life she hates?"

Guy was silent, but suddenly, he laughed out loud, causing most people to stare in the room. Kakashi raised an eyebrow. His friend was losing it right before his eyes.

"Ah, Kakashi, still so naïve," he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eyes, "Don't you get it? She knows the life she's destined to, but do you see her moping about it? Look at her," Kakashi looked. Lee was talking to Kira enthusiastically, waving his arms and grinning. Kyra cocked her head curiously, but soon broke out into laughter as Lee tried to demonstrate something, which caused him to fall on the floor.

"You see?" Guy smiled back at Kakashi, "Kira's one of those students that knows the already knows the pain of being different and isolated. For her, a challenge like this is only another obstacle for her. She stays happy because," Guy's ambitious smile was replaced with a softer one, "…Because she's a lot stronger than you think she is."

Kakashi was silent. He didn't know how to respond. This is what Hisakata had said. _There's still a lot you need to learn about her. _Was it true? Kakashi had been fretting for months, worried that Kira, at such a young age, wouldn't be ready for the exams. But everyone was staring at her in awe, bowing to her like a god. How could this be? Was she really that powerful? During their training days, she surprised him with her agility, ferocious wind powers, and stealth. Sure, he was amazed, because he had never met a Neko. Of course, she was different than other Nekos, being that she was the Kaze Koneko, the breed that could control wind, but was she something more? Even looking at her blood red eyes now, Kakashi felt a twinge of fear. What was she? Was she something more than not only he, but her whole clan, village, the entire Land of Wind could see?  
Was she really a god?

An uproar broke Kakashi was his silence. He turned his head to see that the numbers at appeared on the screen. Two names he never had heard before, but all the students, including Kira, suddenly, all leaning over the railing with open mouths.

"Hisa and Uki," a girl next to Kira said in a hushed voice, "Kira, who do you think will win?" Kira was silent.

"I don't know," she said quietly, wringing her hands together slightly, "They're both really good."

"How can you say that?" her friend laughed, "Hisa's obviously stronger, Uki got two arrows in her arm and leg! Uki's got no chance." Kira shrugged.

"Guy sensei, I have never seen such remarkable athletes before!" came Lee's hyped voice as he appeared next to Guy, "I hope Kira wins her challenge. She's the best one here." Kakashi smiled down at his friend's new student.

"Well, apparently, you're not the only one who thinks so…." He said down to him, "She's pretty popular in the betting pool."

"That's amazing!" Lee piped up once more, looking up with admiration at Kakashi, "You must be proud, Kakashi sensei." Kakashi nodded, slightly, looking at his amber-eyed student.

"Yes," he smiled, "I am."


	14. Chapter 14

The battle had been going on for four minuets now.

"And counting!" Lee had added.

The two opponents fought each other with a skill that Kakashi had never seen, especially from ten year old Genin. Hisa had taken a flying leap upward, clinging on the ceiling, while Uki sprang off the opposite wall and flew towards her. Hisa grabbed a handful of Shiruken and flung them towards her so that they fanned in different directions, but with simple hand movements, Uki parried herself from the blades. Together they sprang at each other with kunai's raised and clashed together in a fury of metal and raw strength.

"They just fly off the walls," Guy observed in amazement, "They have excellent control over their chakra."

"How did that red haired cat girl do that?" Kakashi asked, "She just deflected the Shiruken."

"It's a technique that Nekos have developed," Guy explained as the fight raged on below, "They move their hands so quickly that they deflect objects with only a minor scratch. Plus, their eye sight and reflexes are so good that they can deflect each single one coming to them from all directions. It's the ultimate hands on defense."

"You are so smart Guy sensei!' Lee gushed, practically throwing himself at his feet, "I hope to follow your wisdom and be as smart as you one day!"

"You will, Lee!" Guy smiled broadly down at his student, giving another way-too enthusiastic thumbs-up, "Together, we can accomplish anything!"

_Just kill me now, _Kakashi sighed in his head. No matter how exciting and intense the battle was below him, the talking of the two instantly irritated him.

"_I love you, Guy!_" Lee suddenly yelled, embracing his teacher in a passionate hug.

"Lee, you special kid!" Guy almost broke into sobs as he clung to his student.

"Hate to break up the happy moment," Kakashi said as he looked below, "But the fights over."

Guy and Lee broke apart to see the young cat girl Uki, a Kunai blade jutting out from her shoulder, rippling blood. Everyone's eyes locked into the Genin as she gasped, clutching her shoulder, her face turning pale. She looked up to the white eared Neko who smirked at her, wiping a stain of blood off of her cheek.

"Sorry it had to end this way," she snarled, suddenly hurling another kunai knife at her opponent, this time piercing her stomach. The crowd cried out in horror as Yuki coughed blood, falling knock-kneed to the ground. Hisa only smirked at her work. Kakashi stared in amazement.

"I'm declaring this match over," Atari announced down below, stepping in between the two opponents, "The winner of this match is Shishi Hisa."

Spectators cheered for their companion as she proudly jumped back up to receive her glory. Meanwhile, medical aids rushed in, helping the fallen Neko girl, placing her gently on the stretcher. Kakashi shook his head in amazement.

"Even though they only have tai-jutsu techniques, these kids are fierce," Kakashi whispered."

"They are proof that a ninja doesn't need genjustu or ninjutsu to be powerful!" Lee declared, throwing his fist triumphantly in the air.

Kakashi looked at Kira. Her friends were cheering for Hisa, congratulating here, while others felt somewhat saddened for their other friend, Yuki. Kyra seemed happy for Hisa, but also looked mournfully towards her fallen friend. It seemed Kira did not share the same enthusiasm towards fighting as her friends did. Once everything resumed, all Genin sprang towards the railing, leaning forward to look at the screen, eager to see the next to names.

Four more matches went by, all exuberating with the fire and intensity of heated battles. The crowd watched in amazement as familiar faces fell to the ground, holding wounds, and others holding up blades in victory. Kakashi let out a sigh of relief every time Kira's name didn't appear on the screen, but he was also eager to see her skills in battle. He wanted people to see how well he had trained her, and how powerful she really was.

"She's not like the others," Guy suddenly commented. Kakashi turned.

"I've heard enough of that all day," Kakashi grumbled, "What are you saying?"

"I mean, she isn't blood-thirsty," Guy looked at him, "Look at all the other students. All they care about is winning. Kira doesn't seem to care at all." Kakashi couldn't understand why Guy was realizing all this about a student that wasn't even his. What did he mean? When he looked at Kira, she seemed excited to see the names on the screen. But when one student would lose, she would feel happy for one, and remorse for the other.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right," Kakashi shrugged, "I think I knew somewhere in the back of my head that she was the type that wouldn't fight anyone unless she had a true fire spark within her." Guy turned to him.

"How'd you figure that one?" he asked curiously.

"The Hokage told me that they discovered she had wind powers when a group of kids were picking on her," Kakashi reflected on the memory, "That means she never used it before, until she got angry. I think that doesn't just apply to her wind powers, but to her fighting instinct all together," he smirked at Guy, "That kid can only be driven by purpose."

"Well, if that's the case, then I'm looking forward to seeing her fight with all her passion!" Lee exclaimed, raising his triumphant fist once more.

"Well, you won't have to wait long," Guy suddenly said grimly as a loud uproar grew within the stadium. Students gathered around, eyes wide, whispers tossed back and forth.

Tora's midnight black ears perked up and she smiled. "Well, well, this should be quite interesting." Kakashi stared back and felt himself jump inside. He looked towards Kira. Her eyes were wide, her ears back, and her tail puffed out. She was truly scared.

There on the screen read: Kira Koneko VS. Teiru Akemi.


	15. Chapter 15

"No," Kira whispered shakily, covering her mouth.

"This is unfair," a Neko girl crossed her arms, "Nobody should have to fight Kira; she's too good. It's not fair."

"They shouldn't put a poor girl like Akemi against Kira," another one whispered in the sea of whispers and hushed voices that had erupted, "They shouldn't even have let Kira enter the Chunin exams."

"She's not even human."

"She's a monster."

"A freak."

Kira felt the last word ring painfully in her ears. She clutched her black tinted ears, bringing them down to meet the sides of her head, her eyes closed tight. Her body began to quake as she fought back the tears that were threatening to break through her eyes at any moment.

Monster. Freak.

"_Tag! You're it!"_

"_Wait for me!"_

"_I'm gonna get you!"_

"_Eeek! Stay away!"_

_The young boy raced after, his finger outstretched as he tried to touch her shoulder. The girl quickly darted to left, skidding across the dirt ground. She ducked under a bench as another friend tried to grab her sleeve and resumed running, laughing wildly as she ran circles across the playground._

"_You can't catch me! You can't catch me!"_

_After what seemed like a long time of running around, the four children fell to the ground with a clash; exhausted and panting._

"_I'm tired of this game," one boy moaned weakly._

"_She's too fast," a girl whined, "How'd she get that fast anyway?"_

_Suddenly, a shadow crept up over them in the sunlight. They four children looked up to see their friend, who had not even worked up a pant. She peered down at them with her glinting red eyes, her large hat she wore shading them from the sun. She grinned down at them._

"_Let's play again!" she laughed, turning circles around her exhausted friends, "Let's make it harder this time!"_

"_You're too fast for us, Kira," one of the boys complained, sitting up as Kira grabbed his hand and hoisted him up, "How'd you get like that?"_

"_Do you have a trainer who teaches you that stuff?" a girl eagerly asked as they suddenly surrounded her. They had been playing with Kira for a long time now, and ever since they had met her, she always seemed to be faster then them at everything. They were tired or losing tag games to her; they wanted to know her secret._

"_I dunno," Kira shrugged happily, adjusting the cap on her head, "I guess I'm just fast like that. Who wants to play another game?" The friends looked at each other._

"_Not just yet," another boy said, stepping forward, "You have to tell us what your secret is." Kira was mildly up fronted._

"_I don't have any secrets," she said, confused by her friends tone, "I guess I'm just fast."_

"_No, you've been hiding something from us," a girl pointed a finger towards her head, "Like, why do you always wear that cap over your head?" Kira put two hands on her cap; she feared losing it._

"_My mommy says I have to wear it," Kyra lied, trying to change the subject; her mother told her to never take it off outside. "Let's play the leaf game! Please?" Her friends stared suspiciously at her, but soon resumed their playful attitude._

"_Yeah! Let's gather up a bunch of leaves!" they cheered._

_Her friends ran around, gathering up as many leaves as they could and throwing them into a big pile in the middle of the playground. Once they gathered as many stray leaves as they could, Kira put her hands over the leaves._

"_Are you ready?" she grinned at them._

"_Yeah! Let's go!" Her friends cheered, eager to play the familiar game. Focusing her chakra as much as she could in her hands, Kira suddenly threw her hands up towards the sky, sending the leaves flying up into the air and scattering everywhere. They laughed and ran, jumping up to catch the leaves that delicately floated down. The air was filled with the calm whisper of the wind and their laughing._

"_Wow, Kira, you're good!" A boy laughed in amazement, "Make them go higher!"_

"_Higher!" Kira laughed as she threw her hands up again, making the leaves soar higher and higher. Soon her friends had gathered around, amazed by her steady control over the wind. Kira grinned at her own work; it was her to master the wind._

_Suddenly, Kira felt the wind roar of a powerful wind gust rise up around, sending the leaves scattering around her like spiders. Her friends watched as Kira put her hands down, amazed by her own powers, when she suddenly felt the cap on her head fly off, soaring above her._

_Her heart stopped._

_She grabbed her head, hoping to hide anything that was showing._

"_Oh no," she said quietly, her eyes scanning in every direction for the hat. Where was it? Was it too late?_

_A harsh silence had fallen among the friends. They gasped in fear, staring at their friend. Kira looked back at them, her eyes glazed with fear. They stared back, equally frightened._

"…_W-what are you!?" One of her friends suddenly screamed, taking a step back._

"_I…I…," Kira tried to find her words, but her friends' frightened faces were making it impossible._

"_Her ears!" her other friend screamed in fear, "They-they're like cat ears!"_

"_What the heck are you!? A monster!?" Another screamed as they began to step back in fear. Kira felt tears start to pour from her eyes, the wind chilling them against her face. She didn't want it to happen. Not like this._

_She tried to take a step forward, to let them know that there was nothing to be afraid of, that this was just silly, but her friends suddenly screamed, running away from her._

"_No! Please!" Kira yelled out, tears now streaming down her face._

"_She's a monster!" they screamed, "A freak! Get away! Don't touch us, freak! Stay away, monster! Help! Help! There's a monster attacking us!"_

_Kira watched as her friends ran out of right, never to return. The wind began to clam around her. It scattered leaves, sending them skidding around Kira as she wiped her eyes, holding back sobs. She gently bent down to retrieve her hat that had skidded next to her feet. She looked at it in her trembling hands, and suddenly gripped it furiously, sobbing into it as she stood on the empty play ground alone._

Kakashi looked at Kira. She was still, her eyes closed tight as she tried to block out the whispers around her. Akemi was standing next to her, saying nothing. Was this how it was supposed to end? Would they end up betraying each other's trust in battle?

Kakashi walked over her to slowly. Kira looked up at him, her eyes glazed over.

"Kira, despite what you may think of the Sound ninja and of Masaru," Kakashi suddenly said softly, "This will be one of your greatest challenges yet."

Kira shook her head, closing her eyes tight.

"I don't want to fight Akemi," Kira said sadly, "I don't want to fight any of these people," she suddenly looked up at him with glistening eyes, "Kakashi sensei, these are my friends!"

Kakashi knew that the battle would start any moment, by right now, her shaky words were still echoing in his head.

He kneeled down to eye level with her water eyes and put a reassuring hand on her head.

"You're whole life you've never had a friend to call your own," Kakashi nodded sadly, "I know that these people are your own kind, and that you trust them, but in life, you will be put in situations like this where you have to go up against your one and only friend. You will make other friends, and lose other friends in your life, but you have to remember to look out for yourself to. I'm not asking you to win or lose; I just want you to prove yourself to all the people who didn't see what Akemi saw in you. Don't do this for Akemi; do it for yourself."

"Will the two participants please step down?" Atari's voice suddenly rang through the silent air.

Kira was silent, her eyes now calm. She nodded slowly, suddenly digging into her pocket and pulling something out.

"I was saving this for a time like this," she whispered

Kakashi watched in amazement as Kira took a metal headband from her pocket; something Nekos did not posses. Everyone's eyes were now locked on the small Neko girl as she tied the headband around her neck slowly and firmly, looking at in from beneath her. Kakashi looked at it in amazement: it was a Suna headband.

"This was my dad's," Kira said quietly, gripping the metal on the scratched and worn headband, "He gave it to me before he died." She looked up at Kakashi. The determined glint was back in her fierce red eyes.

"I wanna prove to him that I'm as strong as everybody thinks I am!" she grinned, "Because that's what he always told me."

Kakashi smiled at her.

"Go get 'em," he said.


	16. Chapter 16

The room was silent as they looked down at the two. No one dared make a noise; no one dared blink to miss a thing. This is what they had been waiting for; this may be the only thing that made the Chunin exams exciting for the proctors, let alone the leader of Kaze. They kept their eyes glued to the two Genin.

They face each other, both glaring into each others eyes. Kira had never seen such a look in Akemi's eyes before; it was almost as if there was certain hatred in her eyes. It startled Kira slightly, causing her to wonder what caused her friend to be so angry with her, but only had to look at the headband strapped around her neck to remember why she was fighting her.

"You may begin," Atari announced, standing off to the side. Even he was eager to see the match unfold. This was the first time in over a hundred years that a match like this would take place.

The room became painfully silent. Not a sound was omitted in the large space.

"You're finished," Akemi suddenly whispered harshly.

Before Kyra had a time to react, Akemi suddenly flung a kunai over to Kira. Kira easily dodged it, but did not attempt to take Akemi off guard. She merely stared at her, panting slightly from the surprise.

Akemi smirked at her and took a flying leap from her crouching position where she bounded to the ceiling and then flung herself at Kira. The crowd gasped as she tackled Kira forcefully to the ground, a cloud of dust rising.

"What move was that?" Guy whispered.

"It's a type of ricocheting move," Kakashi explained, still keeping his eyes on his student as the dust began to clear, "It's very powerful, but I don't know if it will be enough to harm Kira."

Everyone gasped when the dust cleared; Akemi was lying alone on the dirt, wiping the dirt from her face. She whipped around angrily to see Kira standing behind her, holding a kunai to the back of her head. The room was filled with an uproar of astonishment.

Akemi growled at her with her dark green eyes, "You think this is a game?" Kira didn't answer, but merely took the kunai knife slowly away from her, her eyes placid. She didn't say a word as she took a step back slowly, waiting for her friends next move.

"Fight me!" Akemi suddenly yelled, racing towards Kira with a handful of Shiruken. She flung them at her, leaping high in the air. Kira put her hands up in front of her and created a wind force field, deflecting each Shiruken with a loud gust of wind as they were sent flying across the arena, one nearly nailing Atari in the head as he ducked for cover.

As the crowd watched the Kira's display of wind power in amazement, Akemi suddenly appeared behind Kira. Before Kira had a time to dodged, Akemi suddenly leapt forward violently, sinking her fangs into Kira's skin.

Kyra yelped in pain; frozen as Akemi stared at her menacingly, sinking her fangs in deeper as blood trickled from her wound.

"What the hell?" Kakashi muttered softly, watching in alarm.

Tora widened her eyes, her ears folding back slightly.

Kira's heart jumped as she Akemi fangs almost closed in on her. She suddenly threw a punch straight to Akemi's head which sent to tumbling to the ground, yelping in pain.

Everyone leaned over the railing, watching with wide eyes at the violent battle that had taken place in only two seconds. When Akemi lifted her head off the ground, Kyra was now holding a large Kantana blade under Akemi's chin, inching away from drawing blood. Everyone gasped in amazement.

"Ah, very good," Tora smirked.

Akemi hissed at Kira harshly, "How dare you!"

"Nobody does that move to a friend," Kira suddenly snapped down to her quarry, equally fierce at her, gripping the large Kantana blade tightly, crimson blood dripping from the bite wound on her arm, "That move was a kill strike. What are you trying to pull!?"

Kakashi did not know what was going on at all, which made things even more fearful for him. Was his student in danger of dying? What had Akemi done to her?

The room was in dead silence, except for the sound of Akemi's harsh panting as Kira's blade caressed the skin on her neck.

"_I'm trying to kill you!_" Akemi suddenly screamed; taking her own Kantana knife and clashing it with Kira's with a loud clang. The two Neko girls held the blades close, hearing the metal scrape in their ears. Everyone watched, too speechless to make any sound at all. All eyes were on them now.

"You're crazy!" Kira yelled back, leaning on her blade, the blood from her wound dripping to the ground beneath them, "What happened to you!? We're friends, right!?"

"Wrong!" Akemi yelled fiercely, leaning into her own blade, their angered face inches away from Kira's blood stained face, "Do you really think anybody would just walk up to the Kaze Koneko and ask to be friends!?" Kira blinked, trying to keep the fire burning inside of her, but it was soon dying down. Nothing was making sense anymore. The blades were digging into each other as the two still bore into each other's eyes fiercely, feet splayed on the ground, hands gripping the blades, ears back, fangs bared.

"You're pathetic," Akemi suddenly spat at Kira's surprised face, lunging forward so that her blade scraped loudly against Kira's, "I never wanted to be your friend; how stupid can you be!? Did you know that you're the reason that half our clan is gone!? Why my parents died for your sake?! _You make me sick!_"

Kira almost stopped breathing. The room was plunged into a deathly silence as spectators watched the battle, holding their breath, waiting for the final strike to finish the match. Kakashi stared down, furrowing his brow in interest. What was the young girl talking about?

Kira felt her world crumble beneath her feet. She almost thought she would fall through, plummeting down into darkness. Everything she wanted, everything she had hoped for, and thought she had finally had, was now gone from her firm grasp. She felt the tears coming back to her eyes, stinging her, paining her as she looked back

"No one would ever want to be you're friend," Akemi hissed slowly, her bright green eyes laughing back at Kira's crimson eyes.

"Well, this has turned out interesting," Guy muttered, rubbing his chin. The room still remained in silence, all eyes locked onto the two dueling Genin, waiting for anything to happen: a blade to fall, a foot to slip, anything. Even Lee didn't want to cheer at the moment; any sound or movement would distract the two Nekos from their utter concentration as they held their blades together, not daring to let go.

"It's now or never, Kira," Kakashi whispered, gripping the railing before him, "Do something; you know you can."

Suddenly, with out warning, Kira swiped the blade swiftly away from Akemi's, causing Akemi to falter slightly be quickly regain her balance. Kira back-flipped several times so that she had perched herself on the wall of the stadium, glaring down at Akemi. Akemi wiped the blood from her cheek, which was dripping from head-wound where Kira had punched her, and flicked her tail angrily, holding her Kantana high. Kira stared down at her like a hawk, sitting perfectly still. The crowd watched as she closed her big eyes slowly, raising up her hand slowly as she cupped the air around her, almost forming a fist.

"What the-" Guy whipped around to look at Kakashi, "Kakashi…You didn't…"

"Yes, I did," Kakashi looked at him, feeling a proud smile spread underneath his dark mask.

"But…Kakashi, why?" Guy almost yelled as the crowd began to mutter in confusion, "Don't you know how dangerous that can be to someone of her age?" Kakashi nodded slightly, looking at Kira. The crowd gasped as a visible light began to form in her hands, crackling and sparking, filling the room with the chirps and snaps of something unknown to Neko. The other Genin watched, tails bristled; ears clamped back. Akemi held her blade tightly, trying to show now fear, but deep inside, she had no idea what her betrayed friend was about to do to her.

"Kakashi, you're an idiot!" Guy snapped, as the crowd gasped loudly in wonder, "You could kill her!"

"What's happening?!" Lee asked loudly, leaning over the railing. Kakashi turned to Guy, a sterner look in his eyes.

"Guy, it's like you said," he said quietly, turning to his student. She now had her eyes open, blazing with a bright red which the entire world hadn't seen for over two hundred years. Akemi watched with wide eyes as the ball of the energy in Kira's hand grew, sparking and chirping loudly until the whole room was filled the sound of what could have been mistaken as a storm of birds, circling the arena.

"What do you mean?" Guy yelled through the noise as Kira suddenly rocketed towards Akemi at an unknown speed, clutching the ball of energy, the noise becoming almost ear splitting. Hearts pounded, fangs bared, breaths were lost.

Akemi watched as she rocketed towards her. Her race towards Akemi had taken less than half a second, but Akemi could pin point when Kira's eyes were only inches away from hers, smirking at her, catching a glimpse of the Suna headband she wore around her neck. Kira almost seemed to actually smirk at her, her fangs showing, whispering the words, "Chidori: One thousand Birds!"

"Because," Kakashi said, as the sound grew unbearably loud, the world seeming to come to an end, "Kira…is a lot like me."


	17. Chapter 17

Kira found herself holding herself inches away from the ground, blood dripping from her nose, pooling up beneath her on the dirt. There was no sound at first, but soon the sounds flooded back to her ears like ocean waves, creating a slight disturbance. Her head swam. Her body ached. Her arms shook as she slowly tried to get up, wiping a smear of blood off of her mouth.

"Hang on there," a voice softly said. But the voice was unfamiliar, and what's more, an unfamiliar hand had grasped onto her arm. Kira whipped around in fright to see a young man smiling at her through his tousled dark brown hair. He smiled at her with glinting gold eyes.

"You did it," he smiled, "You won."

Kira couldn't completely comprehend what he had said, but soon the words started to make sense. She only nodded, the first thought that entered her mind being "What happened to Akemi?"

Before she could ask the question that was now taunting her mind, she suddenly lurched over and gargled up blood from her throat, watching it spatter beneath her in the dust.

"Whoa, we need medical ops over here, now!" A voice commanded from far off.

"Get over here, all of you," another voice barked. Kira's vision became dizzy as she wiped her mouth, wincing at the sour taste, and sat up, watching the world spin around her.

"Where's Akemi?" Kira asked quietly, feeling the lights from above her blind her eyes.

"Get her teacher over here," another unfamiliar voice commanded, the sound of whispers from above her growing more prominent, "She'd probably calm down if she saw him."

"No, wait," Kira pleaded as best as she could, feeling a pair of arms wrap around her, "No, I wanna see Akemi."

"Just be quiet," a voice said in her ear, causing it to flick at the vibrations, "You need to stop talking." Kira suddenly began to pry herself from the man's arms, swinging her feet as hard as she could.

"No! Let go! Let go!" She yelled, quickly holding onto her mouth as she felt the blood rise up in her throat again.

"Kira, don't kick the nice man," a voice suddenly said in its calm and aloof tone. Kira's ears pricked up and she looked up at her teacher's smiling face.

"Kakashi sensei!" she tried to smile as a medical team next to her began to lay out a stretcher. Her smile was soon wiped away when she saw all the faces looking down on her from every direction; and an empty arena.

"Where's Akemi?" Kira asked, wriggling this way and that to look behind the medical op that held her, "Is she all right?"

"She's in the hospital," Kakashi explained, "She had critical injuries, but they think she's going to be okay."

Kira fell silent. Everything started to come back to her; the sound of the crowd gasping, the chirping of birds exploding in the air, and the anger that was flaming inside of her. She looked to the corner of the arena and saw blood smeared across the ground. A shiver went up her spine. Did she really do that to Akemi? Did she really almost kill her only friend?

"That doesn't matter now," the medical op said behind her kindly, patting her shoulder reassuringly. Kira bristled, the fur on her tail and ears doing the same, her crimson eyes narrowing as he said, "You did great; you won."

A chorus of loud screams broke out as Kira whipped around, sinking her fangs into the flesh of the man's arm. He screamed loudly, trying to move his arm in every direction possible, but her teeth were now sinking in, going deeper and deeper, blood washing up against her up until now white fangs. Kakashi took a step back; horrified. He had never seen his student act this way, and it frightened him. It was like looking back on that scene a few months ago, when Kira looked at him with tearful red eyes. He had been surprised then, but not frightened as he was now. There was a focused and angry look in her eyes as she glared up at the man, hardly making a sound as her small fangs seeped into his skin; utter hatred searing in her fire red eyes.

"_Get her off of me!_" The man screamed in terror and extreme pain as several medical ops rushed in, attempting to pull Kira off of his arm.

"Careful! She may go for you next!" one yelled fearfully as they surrounded her. Kakashi watched in shock; is this what a Neko was capable of?

"Stand back, Kakashi!" one of them ordered loudly, stepping on front of him, "She may bite you!" Kakashi watched with horrified eyes as one of the medical ops quickly grabbed Kira's nose, holding it tightly. The screams from the victim and audience soon began to die down as Kira writhed her body slightly, the lack of oxygen forbidding her to continue her impulse act. She finally opened her mouth with an unsettling noise that resembled a knife being taken out of a piece of meat; Kakashi winced at the noise.

When the medical ops held her arms, holding her tiny but agile frame off of the ground, she licked the blood away from her mouth, glaring at the man that had tried to console her, narrowing her eyes at him as others rushed to his aid, attending to his bleeding arm, her ear folded back; blood dripping from her mouth. Kakashi felt as though he was staring at a completely different student.

"_Shut up!_" she snapped loudly, her small fangs dripping blood, "There's nothing great about it!"

Kakashi watched in amazement at what she had just said.

He loved Kyra like a daughter. He would put his life on the line for her. She was the first student he really connected with, and felt as though he could confide in her about anything. But for some reason, he wanted to scream at Kira then, "She was not your friend! Don't you see that!? She wanted to kill you, and you're still holding onto her!"

But he didn't have a chance, because suddenly, Kira's angered eyes went wide.

"Aah!" she yelped, "What are y-"

With out warning, she slowly slumped in the medical op's arms while, her body going limp. Before her eyes closed, she saw the look on Kakashi's face. She couldn't make out the expression. Was he angry with her? Happy? Sad? Pitiful? But the thoughts soon echoed away in her mind as she slipped into darkness.

"_Look, it's her."_

"_Let's do this together."_

"_Don't you know who you are?"_

"_She's a monster."_

"_You're finished."_

"_No one ever wanted to be your friend."_

"_You make me sick!"_

"_All these secrets are no fun unless you have someone to share them with."_

The room suddenly lit up around Kira, peeling back the darkness she was thrown into. She blinked her heavy eyelids, the soft light of the sunlit white room enveloping her. Quickly, the sounds that were echoing in her ears faded away, replacing it with the drone of soft breezes from outside. Kira tried to sit up, but her head spun as she did so. She endured it, wiping her sour tasting mouth and looked around the room. She looked beneath her neck to see that the headband around her neck was still there, flecked with blood.

Had it been a dream?

"Why so surprised?" a warm voice chuckled.

Kira instantly lit up and turned behind her to see her silver haired sensei, his face calm and relieved.

"Kakashi sensei!" she chirped, turning her body around in her bed covers to face him, her tail wagging. Suddenly, the memories of before came flooding back into her mind, sending her down the path of emotions was walking down earlier. She stopped short of saying something to Kakashi and her ears went limp, her smile disappearing. Kakashi noticed.

"Kyra, do you remember what happened?" Kakashi asked quietly, trying not to provoke her. It was rare that the child got angry about anything, but when she did, it scared him; he wasn't used to it.

"Mm," Kyra whimpered sadly, rubbing her arm, "I did a bad thing…I'm sorry I bit that man." Kakashi couldn't help but melt at her sad red eyes.

"He was trying to help you," Kakashi said quietly, reaching out and scratching her tan colored ears, "They had to sedate you; you were so wild." He pointed to the tiny dot on the back of Kira's arm. Kira looked at it and winced.

"…Why did you do that?" Kakashi asked quietly.

Kira was silent for a while, her head slowly starting to shake. Kakashi watched as she shut her eyes tight, before clenching her fists and choking out the words, "Because…I…hate what I am now!"

Kakashi, startled, kept quiet, allowing her to continue. Kira's eyes glazed over as she sniffed and said in a more quiet voice, "I—I don't want to fight people for the sake of winning. I don't want to lose friends, and be the best. I don't want to do any of the things that everybody is trying to make me do! I don't want to be the Kaze Koneko anymore! I just want to be me!"

Kakashi knew all too well what she meant: Protecting the ones you love. It was beaten into the heads of young ninja in training who were given the privilege to learn a special move, one that could, or should, only be used for that purpose. Kira had just naturally felt that that was the right thing to do. Kakashi mentally gave a bitter smile.

Kira's tears had died down and she sniffed again, wiping her nose, then saying softly, "Kakashi sensei…I don't know what to do," she sounded hopeless as she took her tail in her hands and wrung it thoughtfully, "I'm scared…what do I do?"  
Kira asking Kakashi that was a first. He had never seen such a lost look in her eyes before, as if he was her only answer in life.

Maybe he was.

"You think there's an answer to life?" he smiled down at her down at her big eyes, "People go around life trying to find an answer, but there is none. All you can do if figure out the answer to your life; what you want to do, or where you want to go," he laid a soft hand on her head, "You're a smart, brave girl, Kira. You will face battles much greater than what you have faced today, and you will learn from those battles. But you have a challenge that some people do not even know enough to experience, and that is pressure." Kira cocked her head.

"I know you don't like who you are," Kakashi continued, "But we all have to expect our lives, and learn to accept who we are. There will be people bowing to you and claiming you as a god, but that doesn't mean you can't be who you are. You will learn one day that having all eyes on you is better than having none at all."

Kira nodded slowly, all his words sinking in. She looked up at him, and Kakashi's felt the same heart warming he had been feeling for months swell up inside him.

She was smiling at him.

"I guess if I am who I am, I can't change that," Kira shrugged happily, "But I like who I am. It's like you said," she grinned at him, "I'm Kira."

Kakashi smiled and nodded. "You are," he said softly.


	18. Chapter 18

The day passed quickly, since Kira had woken up in the late afternoon, and with it came the sleepy haze of twilight. The sky was the color of wine and cherry, mixing in with the oncoming blue of darkness. At this time, when Kakashi and Kira would train late, Kira would run over to the lake where the summer heat was most prominent, to catch the bugs that skidded on the water surface, while Kakashi read his book.

But there wasn't time for that tonight. That night, the winners of the third task in the Chunin exams would be put before the leader of Kaze, to be finally honored as Chunin class Shinobi.

The office where they stood in was fairly large; a traditional Japanese styled room, with large windows that let in the cool night breeze, and large mats on the floor. There were photos of past Kaze leaders, and even paintings of old Kaze Konekos. Kira stared at them in wonder. Were they really her predecessors?

She looked at the familiar faces around her; they were all winners of the third task, all Nekos she knew, but none of them were her friend. She sighed to herself, shuffling her feet. Most of them were talking quietly to each other, whispering and laughing nervously occasionally. Kira didn't have anyone to talk to. Akemi's words kept ringing in her ears, _Did you know that you're the reason that half our clan is gone!?_ _Why my parents died for your sake!?_ Kira didn't even know Akemi's parents; how could she have killed them? How could she have killed half their clan? She was only four years old when they invaded; she didn't remember a thing.

She stared down at the headband that still clung to her neck, wondering what her father would have said to her if he had heard what Akemi had said. Would he have confessed that it was true?

But the words still left a searing pain etched in her heart.

_You make me sick. _

"I don't care about Akemi. She had no right to do that."

Kira's ears perked up at the sound of her former friend's name. She swiveled her ear to the left to hear the conversation taking place next to her.

"Huh, Chizuru?"

"Don't you get it? She just betrayed the only friend that poor girl had. Don't you think that's just…I don't know, wrong?"

"Yeah, I guess," The other voice sighed, "I really don't know much about it…but it still wasn't right."

"I know, and to think she brought up that whole thing about her parents dying. Don't you think Kira's gone through the same problems she had…?" The cat girl's voice trailed off slightly. Kira turned to see all the eyes of the six girls on her, staring in an almost embarrassed way. They didn't know she was listening to her. Kira didn't care, but she didn't know what to say at the moment. She simply let her eyes fall to the floor, trying to pretend she didn't care.

But she did. She cared that someone was acknowledging her feelings. She looked over slightly to see the young girl that was talking before. She had long blonde hair with very light brown ears. Kira's eyes flickered; she remembered seeing her in the exam many times, but had never talked to her. She was talking to Akemi the entire time.

Which was what Akemi had wanted.

The awkward silence stayed, since no one wanted to talk after that. It had become apparent that they were standing with the Kaze Koneko.

_They probably all knew I'd be here, _Kira said to herself bitterly.

"Is the man's arm all right?" Kakashi turned to the doctor next to him. He was still in the hospital, as he had decided to stay there until Kira was done with her Chunin acceptance. The sky had gotten dark, but the hospital room was still bright; office employees getting ready for the night shift. It was peaceful and quiet, almost empty.

The man looked up from his clipboard and smiled.

"Yes, he is," he nodded, "No serious harm done. It just surprised everyone, because…," he took a prolonged sigh, "The move she attempted is a kill strike." Kakashi leaned forward in his chair from shock.

"You're kidding," he said quietly, "I…never think she'd do that…I…don't know as much as I should about Nekos."

"It's called the Shikon attack," the doctor explained in a somewhat serious tone, "its street name is the "porcupine bite". When a Neko gets old enough, their teeth are able to grow at will, but most Neko Shinobi only activate it when they are in battle. It's an assassination move, usually used on the jugular vein, where they will bite and their teeth will grow until they reach their full length." Kakashi winced.

"But don't worry;" the doctor said reassuringly, flipping a few pages on the clipboard before setting it down on the desk near by, "She isn't old enough to have her fangs grow that way, although it can still be very painful. That's why Nekos must attend a Jonin training school at age ten, because that's when their old enough to use some attacks." Kakashi remembered hearing these same words from Masaru. He didn't know that this was what they meant, however; that someone had the ability to rip of a ninja's arm using that technique. The thought scared him slightly.

"But, I guess it shows that she's a fiery little konuchi," the doctor smiled suddenly, "She'll make a fine Shinobi." Just as Kakashi was about to agree, the door to he room opened suddenly with a slight bang. It was Atari.

"Excuse me, Kakashi-san," he said, a look of fright on his face, "Can we speak to you?"

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, slightly unnerved by Atari's pale face. Atari was silent for a while, his frightened look turning into a look of regret.

"Something's happened," he said quietly.

The small click of a door being slid opened almost seemed to ring out in the room. Everyone stayed still, not moving. They were Chunin now, and they knew that any movement they made could give off an unwanted signal. Now was not the time to show fear.

"My, my, what interesting Genin we have here," a voice said, gliding into their ears like silk. Although the voice was mysterious, it also was calming; making the children relax slightly. Footsteps almost echoed in the room, accompanied by two other pairs. When the Nekos looked up, they saw the leader of Kaze, flanked by two guards. Everything they said about her was true. She was a Neko woman, one of the most beautiful and powerful. Her deep plum colored eyes stared back at them, her pointed black ears calm. She had a sense of elegance and class about her that made Kira feel safer; it had been a while since she was with an adult of her own kind.

Tora stood before the students in a placid manner, her eyes scanning them. The usual passers; small, cute, innocent looking enough, but she knew that with their skills that helped them pass the grueling exam, they were also to be taken very seriously. They were, after all, Chunin now.

"I'm not much of a speech maker," Tora suddenly said in her catty voice, her long, elegant tail giving one long swish, "So I'm just going to come right out and say that you all made it to the level of Chunin. Congratulations."

A wave of small but happy smiles spread through the now Chunin Shinobi. Kira felt herself smile, her ears pricking up, but when Tora's eyes landed on her, she became somewhat shy and only looked back, waiting for her to say something else. Tora stared down at her with her soft eyes, but suddenly smiled down at her warmly.

"You know, girls," Tora said, facing the group again, "Being a Chunin isn't easy, and I'm sure you all know that. You will be faced with much harder challenges, some that will put you in a position where you will have to decide what's more important: Friendship, or death." Her eyes suddenly sharpened, glowering down at the belittled students. They perked up slightly, somewhat frightened, but eager to hear the Leader of Kaze's wise words.

"I want you all to know, that when you become true Shinobi of the Land of Wind, friends will be the only thing you have. Enemies will seek after you, chasing your skills and hunting you down," she looked towards Kira, as if emphasizing her point, "We are a special race, and for that we pay the price. But you must all keep those dear to you close to you heart. If you lose that, then you have nothing."

A soft silence descended on the lamp-lit room, a whisper of a breeze blowing in. Kira let the words sink in. Kakashi had told her this many times. He was always going on about putting your friends first, and she believed that. She smiled at the woman; she liked her.

"Further more," Tora's mysterious smile returned, "I want you all to remember that you represent the land of wind, and while we don't have gen-jutsu or ninjutsu skills, we are still one of the greatest races in a-" The students were so focused that they nearly jumped when the door behind them slid open roughly. They all turned their heads somewhat awkwardly as they stared at the three men in the doorway: Masaru, Atari, and Kakashi.

Kira's ears perked up at the familiar faces, but her eyes lit up when she saw Kakashi.

"Lady Tora," Atari said, somewhat breathing heavily as if he had ran there, "May we speak to Kira Koneko please?"

Kira's ears snapped up at the sound of her name. She looked at their faces. They were different; almost sullen and depressed. She wondered if she had done something wrong, and that she hadn't qualified for Chunin after all. Was it because he had bitten that medical op? Was she in big trouble for that? What was happening?

"…Yes, if it's that important," Tora said quietly, looking at the disheveled look in the men's eyes. As a Neko, she could sense the emotions of others, and what their eyes were telling her now wasn't anything she wanted to hear. She gave a look to Kira and nodded kindly, reassuring her that it was okay. Kira looked at her with slight doubt, but nodded and bowed politely before running off towards the familiar men who closed the door once she stepped out into the hallway with them.

Despite the looks on the guests, and what they seemed to be telling Tora with her eyes, she smirked slightly to herself.

_I should be bowing to her, _she chuckled to herself.


	19. Chapter 19

"Am I in trouble?" Kira asked as they walked down the hallway. They said nothing; not even Kakashi. Kira had asked him the question, not even remembering Atari's name and still not trusting enough to even look up at Masaru. She tugged at Kakashi's sleeve as they turned a corner.

"Kakashi sensei," she chirped quietly, reaching up to tug at him, "What's going on?" Kakashi didn't answer. Kira began to get worried. She felt her heart beat against her chest. Biting someone wasn't that bad, was it? Was she in really big trouble now?

Finally, they opened the door to a quiet and secluded office down the hallway.

"Step inside," Masaru said quietly, not looking at Kira. His voice was neither commanding nor angry. It almost sounded apologetic. Kira stared up at Masaru, but didn't narrow her eyes in suspicion like the first time they met. She simply looked up at him with an apologetic look of her own and stepped inside quietly. The two other men followed; Kira craning her head back to make sure Kakashi was still there. Once they were inside, they shut the door quietly.

"Take a seat, Kira," Atari said quietly, tapping the chair. Kira quickly sat down, eager to hear the news. Was she going somewhere? Was she being already promoted to Jonin? Some of her suggestions didn't make sense, but she had begun to rack her brain with any sort of reason as to why she was summoned here by these remorseful looking men.

Masaru sat down at his desk, Kakashi and Atari standing on either side, leaving Kira sitting by herself in the middle of the small room. It was silent. The sound of a clock ticking seemed to echo loudly. Kira swung her feet slightly off the chair, not wanting to look up at the three pairs of eyes that stared at her.

"Kira," Masaru said quietly, in a tone Kira wasn't used to from him, "Something…has happened, and you need to know about it." Kira blinked.

"Okay," Kira said casually, her tail swinging underneath her chair. Kakashi sighed to himself sadly, feeling his heart wrench. He knew the carefree expression he had grown to love so much would be gone in a matter of seconds. The three Shinobi looked at each other before Masaru turned to Kira. He looked almost older. He had a sort of sullen expression that someone would get when at a funeral, paying respects. Kira, however, still had no idea why she was here.

"Kira," Masaru said quietly but clearly, lifting his grim eyes to meet hers, "Your mother is dead."

Kira blinked once more. She cocked her head in slight confusion, until the words suddenly hit her as if by force, almost knocking her back.

Dead. Mother? The words didn't make sense. She tried to piece them together in her mind, feeling her heart begin to race. Dead. Mother. Something had happened.

Mother is dead?

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this," Masaru continued quietly, looking at the wild eyed expression on Kira's face as she began to work herself up into a slight pant from fear, "We just found out. An Akatsuki member reportedly murdered her in her home almost ten hours ago. The police say that they they're going to try to find any other concluding evidence, but unfortunately, they can't track the Akatsuki down," he shook his head, "I'm so, so sorry that we were the ones who had to tell you this; it's a terrible thing."

The room was quiet as they looked at the little cat girl. Kakashi almost felt his heart break. The sunny days he had spent with her, the laughter, the learning, the smiles were all disappearing before his eyes, being wiped away by the wild-eyed look on her face as she sat there, gripping the edges of the chair, her tail bristled as she breathed heavily, her red eyes wide and scared. She was shaking. It was all too much. Was this how it was supposed to happen? Was this her life now?

An orphan?

Kira attempted to speak, but no words came to wind, only a soft whimper. She lifted her now icy hands, feeling them shake before her. The world startled to disappear around her, letting her fall, no hands to catch her.

Mother's dead. The only parent she remembered, the only one she could remember soothing her when she as upset, chasing her fears away, nurturing her, loving her.

And now she was gone forever.

The horrified look on the child was not surprising to the saddened Shinobi, but from the way she looked down at her hands, the way her body shook, how she didn't say anything, they felt discomforted by it. They had talked before, about how the child had just gone through battling her only friend and had just passed the Chunin exams, that now was not the time to tell her, but they knew that the next day she would be leaving to go to train with the leader of Kaze.

"It's too dangerous now," Masaru shook his head, "The Akatsuki are on the move, searching for her, I'm sure of it; they already got to her mother. How do we know she'll be safe under the care of the leader of Kaze?"

"We can't relay on your instincts alone," Kakashi growled, feeling his own hands shake slightly, "It's her future in your hands."

"Let her go," Atari suddenly said, stepping forward, "I'll be with the leader of Kaze, and I'll look after her, Kakashi, I promise. Running away would be absurdity and cowardly. We're going to protect her with her our lives." Kakashi silently stared at his friend.

He was right.

"At least she'll be with her own kind," Atari continued hopefully, "If she has friends, she might become more trusting to people. It's the safest option we have, considering Orochimaru's position."

Kakashi lifted his watering eyes to meet Atari's.

"I'll let her go," Kakashi said softly, nodding his head, "If it's the safest thing I can do for her."

"Kira…," Kakashi said quietly, hoping his voice would wake Kira up. Kira lifted her head, new tears pouring from her eyes. In all of Kira's life, she had never cried so much as she had in the past day.

Was this the way life was going to be now?

She shook as she stared at Kakashi as she hid her trembling mouth in her cold hands, feeling the memories of her mother come to a grinding halt. There would be no more. She didn't have any time to bask in her warmth and love. It was over.

"N—_No!_" Kira jumped up and screamed, making a dash for the door.

No one stopped her.

She slid it open and raced down the hallway, running as fast as she could; running away from the monster that had caused all the trouble.

Mother, father…dead.

_Why did they abandon me!? _Kira sobbed to herself.

Painful memories screamed back the answer in her ears.

"_Don't you know who you are?"_

"_You're finished."_

"_Why my parents died for your sake?!" _

"_You make me sick!"_

"_No one ever wanted to be your friend."_

"No! No, no! I can't take it anymore!" Kira sobbed, blindly running down the lit hallway, feeling the world crash and tumble around her. Seeing the entrance door through her blurry eyes, she sent the doors flying open with a gust of wind, running out into the cold night air, into darkness.

Kakashi bolted through the doors, gasping for breath, staring around him. He needed to find her. It was nearly impossible at the speed she was going, not to mention the cold night air that set in, but if he didn't, anything could happen to her. Maybe Orochimaru was there now, in the trees, waiting to catch her while she was defenseless and haul her back to his comrades, where they would make her their slave. Kakashi couldn't bear the thought. He panicked. He needed to find her. He wanted to make everything better for her.

He saw her standing there, drenched in moonlight, covering her face in her hands while she gulped back sobs. Kakashi watched, relieved, but also heartbroken. Kira turned, the white light reflecting from her eyes. For a while, the two stood there, looking back at each other. Suddenly, Kira slowly walked towards Kakashi, her feet echoing in the night. Kakashi stayed still, unsure of what to do next, afraid that anything he might do would send her running again. She was now standing in front of him, her eyes fixated on the cold ground, her tears glistening in the moonlight.

Kakashi slowly reached out a hand and rested it on his student's head. Kira trembled, her tears welling up even bigger. Suddenly, she threw herself at Kakashi, burying herself into his stomach as she cried her eyes out.

As the wind picked up, sending the fall leaves scattering into the air and the dark trees bowing in the wind, Kakashi held Kira close, the two staying that way for a long time.


	20. Chapter 20

It had been a while since Kakashi felt the cool breeze on his face. It was soft and sweet, the scent of cherry blossoms still clinging to the air before autumn's cold breath would wash it away. The grass shifted in the wind, harmonizing with the soft, gentle wind.

It was the same type of beautiful breeze he had felt the last time he was here. It brought back so many memories; so many memories that pained him, and made him smile in a bitter way. But he was glad to have those memories. He was glad he had met her.

It was been a while since he had worn his dark clothes. He hadn't been to a funeral in ages. The soft whistling of the flutes that were played during the ceremony still hummed in his ear. The tunes were beautiful. He remembered that one day, before she applied to the Chunin exams, that she had hummed that song while picking cherry blossoms, and heard that same tune being played on a flute earlier. He realized it was one of the many traditional songs of the Neko clan. It was so beautiful; so soulful. It almost brought a tear to his eye as he remembered her singing it.

Did he do this to her? Would she ever be the same again?

He walked along the field of grass, knowing he would soon have to go back to Konoha. Any minuet, she would leave, to go to the village hidden in clouds. Was it really that simple? What would happen to her? What if she didn't make friends in her new cell? What if she ended up alone and afraid? He couldn't bear the thought. He wanted to be there with her every step of the way. He was, after all, her only guardian, as of now.

As the rest of the relatives and friends parted ways, the reception taking place in the beautiful field of grass by the bubbling brook, Kakashi came across a small dock that was built by the waters edge, presumably for fishing. He saw her there, sitting on the edge of the wooden dock, swinging her feet at the edge, her head down.

Kakashi walked over silently, trying not to startle her, but Kira's right ear swiveled back to hear his footsteps crunching on the grass, and she turned to him.

She gave a soft smile.

"You don't want to come to the reception?" Kakashi asked, standing above her, his hands in his pockets, a soft breeze rustling his silver hair. Kira shook her head, turning back to the water that gurgled below her, the cat grass swaying next to her.

"Nah," she shrugged, curling her toes so that they barley touched the icy water. Her silk-woven kimono draped around her, rustling around her legs in the wind. Kakashi liked the idea that all the Neko women had worn them at the funeral; it made things seem less dark.

"I don't really wanna talk to anybody right now," Kira said quietly, "They all talked to me before, saying how sorry they were, so they probably don't have anything to talk about now." She looked up at Kakashi and smiled her old smile again, her red eyes glimmering. Kakashi sat down next to her on the cool grass, the hot sun shining down on them. A few late summer cicadas hummed in the air as birds chirped from the nearby stretch of woods. Kakashi felt himself heave a sigh of cool air. He had a feeling this would be the last time he would spend a day like this with Kira.

"…Kakashi?" Kyra suddenly turned to her sensei. He looked at her and smiled.

"...People…have been talking a lot about me lately," Kira started, somewhat uneasy, "More than usual; about my god-like powers. They keep calling me that. God. They've been in hushed voices, especially Atari and Lady Tora, about how I'm very special. I know I'm special…But I don't think I'm a god…am I?" she looked up at Kakashi. Kakashi shrugged.

"A god just a term to refer to someone that's worshiped, or has god-like powers," Kakashi explained as best as he could, "It doesn't necessarily mean the person is god."

He reached out and ruffled her head.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you not a God," Kakashi smiled. Kira laughed, wrinkling her nose as Kakashi tousled her dark brown hair.

"I hope so," Kira sighed, swinging her feet off the edge, "All these secrets are no fun unless you have someone to share them with." Kakashi laughed; he had heard that somewhere before.

"Anyway, it's like you said. I have to like myself for who I am." She smiled up at him, "And I do."

"Will you be okay?" Kakashi suddenly asked seriously, fearing that her old cheerful look she now had would fade away again, leaving her with the same sad expression that said to him "What did I do to deserve this?" But Kira only nodded her head softly, giving a soft laugh.

"I'm okay," Kira smiled, "My mom wouldn't want me to be mad. At least she's with dad now," she looked up to the sky, "Or down in the ground," she looked at her toes above the bubbling brook, "Or anywhere. Wherever they are, they're together. I'm happy. I hope I can make some friends in the village hidden in the clouds," she grinned up with her fangs at Kakashi, "It's a new adventure!"

Soon, Kakashi was watching in the late afternoon sun as Kira stood with Atari, who would be bringing her the village hidden in the clouds. Kakashi had been there before, and he liked the place. There was a voice telling him that everything would be okay, but somehow, he couldn't believe that. He still worried about her. Was this how a father felt when they sent their child out into the world? Like it's their job to worry?

_Or something like that, _Kakashi said to himself, putting his hands in his pockets.

Before Kira sprang into the awaiting forest with Atari, on her way to meet her future family, she stopped and looked at Kakashi. The late afternoon sun sent gold sparks down on the grass, making her crimson eyes more brilliant than before as she smiled up at him. Kakashi recognized that smile.

It was the same grin he saw the very first time he met her.

"Will I—see you again?" Kakashi asked hopefully, wagging her black tipped tail. Kakashi looked down at her, trying to get in every last detail of her: her shining brown slightly windswept hair, her small fangs, her small ski jump nose, her huge tan ears with the black tints, and the crimson eyes. He would never forget those.

"Of course you will," Kakashi smiled down at her in his aloof manner, "Just you wait."

"I will," Kira grinned, laughing, "I'm gonna be a master Shinobi the next time you see me!"

Kakashi watched as Atari and Kira sprang into the woods, Kira racing ahead and bounding off the walls of trees, disappearing into the brush as Atari called out, "Hey! Wait for me!"

Kakashi gave one last wave of his hand and let it fall slowly, smiling softly to himself. He took out the book that he hadn't read in a while and turned to the dog-eared page, reading as he walked across the empty, sun lit field of green grass, going back to his apartment to pack and head off to Konoha. The wind sighed through the leaves, signaling that the sun would soon set and peaceful darkness would set it. Kakashi was looking forward to seeing his old friends. But before he could even picture their faces, Kira's last words came echoing back in his ears. He smiled to himself.

"All in good time," he smiled.

* * *

Stay tuned for the sequel!! :)


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